Bio and Medicine

Using proteins from a common tobacco plant virus, McGill chemistry researchers have developed a simple, eco-friendly way to arrange gold nanoparticles into ultrathin sheets, strengthening the particles’ optical properties. The result: cheaper, safer materials for solar panels, sensors and advanced optical devices.

DNA nanostructures are exciting new biomedical tools with myriad potential in treatment, diagnosis and disease prevention. Made of folded DNA, these nanostructures are highly programmable and have been used in bioengineering professor Xing Wang’s lab before for virus rapid detection tests, potent inhibition and targeted cancer drug delivery.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) have rapidly emerged as one of the most promising frontiers in modern biology. These nano-sized messengers mediate communication between cells, tissues, and organs, influencing processes from immune signaling to cancer progression. Their growing diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic relevance has accelerated research worldwide.

Antibiotics are no longer able to treat infections as effectively as they once did because many pathogens have developed resistance to these drugs. This phenomenon, known as antimicrobial resistance (AMR), claims over a million lives worldwide each year.

Researchers at the Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI), Kanazawa University, report the successful creation of artificial synaptic vesicles that can be remotely controlled by near-infrared (NIR) light. By embedding a phthalocyanine dye into lipid bilayers, the team achieved local heating that modulates membrane permeability, enabling precise release of neurotransmitters such as acetylcholine.