We live in an age where the lines between computer support and human support are changing. In Nassau County computer repair means people fixing computers. In Suffolk County computer repair means people fixing computers. But in the labs of esteemed universities studies are underway that would turn that notion on its head. Computer repair would mean vital body immune response would be carried out by miniature computers. Nanotechnology has evolved and it is poised to change everything. One of the major fields of change will be in the health industry.
Nanotechnology is the use of technology using very small things. A nanometer is a component of dimension. Nanotechnology useelements running between 1 and 100 nanometers. If you took 800,000 nanometers and laid them side by side it would be about the width of a hair. That’s small stuff. Being able to operate and manipulate elements at such a small level holds great potential benefit in the medical arena. A great number of research institutions are engaged in exciting studies that could change the face of health care. Some changes are already occurring.
Presently a number of experiments are using nanotechnology in a various methods. One application is in how nanotechnology can assist in diagnosing and treating cancer. One of the biggest drawbacks to cancer treatments such as chemotherapy, is that it is a shotgun approach to treating the body. Healthy and unhealthy cells are assaulted. With nanotechnology specific cells can be targeted. There are studies that employee RNA strands that can locate and connect to cancer cells. Once attached these strands can release anti-cancer agents into the afflicted cells. Other studies have focused on creating a color coding system using nanotechnology that would create protein indicators that would find and link to cancer cells for easy identification. An additional application nanotechnology in the treatment of cancer is nanoshells. Nanoshells are made of tiny beads with various densities made of gold. These shells are drawn to cancer cells, surround them and then are heated with near infrared light which destroys the cancer cells, but spares the nearby healthy cells not surrounded by nanoshells.
Nanodevices would be tiny enough to enter a cell. They would be little enough that they could engage proteins and DNA. They would be able to monitor the cell and detect disease using a minimal amount of valuable cell tissue. Changes in cell tissue indicating disease could be monitored and detected sooner. Since success in fighting cancer often depends on early detection, nanodevices would start a revolution in cancer fighting technologies.
Nanotechnology is a quickly becoming an area of science that combines many disciplines including; physics, chemistry, biology, engineering, and many other sciences including political and social science. With continual breakthroughs in all different fields, the advent of Nanotechnology will be fully upon us.
