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Microscopic gold tubes can both detect and destroy cancer cells
There's no doubt that doctors would prefer to treat cancer as soon as they spot it, and it looks like nanotechnology might give them that chance. Researchers at the University of Leeds have successfully tested gold nanotubes that are useful for both imaging and destroying cancer cells. Since the tubes absorb near-infrared light frequencies, which both generate heat and render human skin transparent, you only need to zap them with lasers of varying brightness to achieve multiple ends. You can use a relatively low brightness to reveal tumors, while high brightness will heat the tubes enough to kill nearby tumorous cells. The shape also has room for drugs, so you can deliver medicine at the same time.
Leeds researchers tout gel-based batteries as better, safer and cheaper
They're some fairly bold claims, but a team of researchers at the University of Leeds say they've managed to develop a new type of polymer gel that could lead to batteries that are safer, cheaper to manufacture and more flexible than traditional lithium-ion batteries. That last detail could have some particularly interesting consequences, as the researchers say it allows for batteries that can "shaped and bent to fit the geometries of virtually any device." What's more, all of that apparently comes with no compromise in performance, and the team has already licensed the technology to Polystor Energy Corporation, which is now conducting trials to commercialize the battery cells. The only catch is that there's not so much as a hint as to when such batteries might actually be available.
Robotic yellow submarine finds massive river under the sea, tons of other trippy stuff
Researchers at the University of Leeds have employed a robotic yellow submarine to fund and begin documenting a massive river under the sea, known as a submarine channel -- the first ever directly observed. The river is so large that if it were on land, it would be the sixth largest river in the world. The torpedo-shaped autosub itself is a 23-foot long, unmanned craft which can be programmed to stay just safely above the channels where they'd encounter damage. It's equipped with an underwater speed camera which enable the team to observe in detail the flows within the channel. While little is known about what kind of lifeforms may lurk in these waters, the team's research puts science a little closer to understanding these unique rivers, and its full report will be published later this year in Geology. [Image credit: R. Flood, ]
Metamaterials used to focus Terahertz lasers, make them useful
Forget old and busted X-rays, T-rays are the future, man! It was only recently that we were discussing Terahertz lasers and their potential to see through paper, clothes, plastic, flesh, and other materials, but that discourse had to end on the sad note that nobody had managed to make them usable in a practical and economically feasible way. The major hurdle to overcome was the diffusion of Terahertz radiation -- which results in weak, unfocused lasers -- but now researchers from the universities of Harvard and Leeds seem to believe they've managed to do it. Using metamaterials to collimate T-rays into a "tightly bound, high powered beam" will, they claim, permit semiconductor lasers (i.e. the affordable kind) to perform the duties currently set aside for sophisticated machinery costing upwards of $160,000. Harvard has already filed a patent application for this innovation, and if things pan out, we might be seeing body scanners (both for medical and security purposes), manufacturing quality checks, and a bunch of other things using the extra special THz stuff to do their work.
Virtually waterless washing machine edges closer to production
You can find a washer just about anywhere that promises to consume less water than most of its rivals, but finding one that's "virtually waterless" is still a chore. Yeah, there was that one contraption from Singapore a few years back, but c'mon, it's no bona fide washing machine. Nevertheless, a University of Leeds spin-out company -- dubbed Xeros -- has already received £500,000 in order to commercialize a device that "uses less than 2% of the water and energy of a conventional washing machine." Instead, it relies on a plethora of plastic chips that are tumbled with the clothes to remove stains. We're not sure how comfortable we really are with the thought of that, but folks that have already warmed to the idea can look for these things to hit the UK market in 2009.[Via MetaEfficient]
University of Leeds developing artificial finger for sensory studies
If you were a tad freaked out by a robotic hand clothed in cucumbers, we promise this one's a bit tamer. A team of researchers at the University of Leeds have put forth a proposal to create an "artificial finger" in order to better understand why we react differently to different textures / surfaces. The finger will purportedly be used in testing rigs that "measure variables such as friction and compliance," and when combined with data from "a series of self-report experiments," the team aims to identity relationships between certain surface profiles and emotions. Of course, this kind of analysis would be a marketers dream come true, and let's face it, you know we couldn't resist picking up a Winnie the Pooh DAP that was inexplicably fuzzy.[Via Core77]
