It’s a time where the lines between computer support and human support are changing. In Nassau County computer repair means humans working on computers. In Suffolk County computer repair means humans working on computers. But in the halls of many major universities studies are underway that would flip the relationship. Computer repair would mean essential 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 medical technology.
Nanotechnology is the use of technology using very small things. A nanometer is a unit of measurement. Nanotechnology useelements 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 on such a tiny scale holds great potential benefit in the medical arena. A great number of research institutions are engaged in exciting studies that could lead to a major revolution in health care. Some changes are already occurring.
Currently there are many different studies using nanotechnology in a various methods. One area of interest 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 can’t specifically target only cancer cells. Normal and cancer cells are attacked. With nanotechnology only cancer cells can be treated. 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. Research has also considered the possibility of creating a color coding system using nanotechnology that would create protein indicators that would attach to cancer cells making them easier to trace. Another developing use nanotechnology in the fight against cancer is nanoshells. Nanoshells are made of minute beads with various densities made of gold. These shells are attracted 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 operate inside 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 smaller quantity of cell tissue. This means that diseases and change in cell tissue 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 utilizes a wide array of 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.