Just imagine: An optical lens so powerful that it lets you view features the size of a small virus on the surface of a living cell in its natural environment. Construction of instruments with this capability is now possible because of a fundamental advance in the quality of an optical material used in hyperlensing, a…
Multitasking Monolayers
Two-dimensional materials that can multitask. That is the result of a new process that naturally produces patterned monolayers that can act as a base for creating a wide variety of novel materials with dual optical, magnetic, catalytic, or sensing capabilities. “Patterned materials open up the possibility of having two functionalities in a single material, such…
“Silent Killer” Revealed by Blood-Brain Barrier on a Chip
The blood-brain barrier is a network of specialized cells that surrounds the arteries and veins within the brain. It forms a unique gateway that both provides brain cells with the nutrients they require and protects them from potentially harmful compounds. An interdisciplinary team of researchers from the Vanderbilt Institute for Integrative Biosystems Research and Education…
Glow-in-the-dark Brain Cells Imitate Fireflies
A new kind of bioluminescent sensor causes individual brain cells to imitate fireflies and glow in the dark. The probe, which was developed by a team of Vanderbilt scientists, is a genetically modified form of luciferase, the enzyme that a number of other species including fireflies use to produce light. It is described in a…