Trapping Toxins Using Gold Nanoparticles 68
Billly Gates writes "British scientists have found a way to quickly and accurately find toxins by binding gold nanoparticles with sugar which then could be dissolved in a solution that changes color when any toxin is found. This procedure could be used in the medical field to find poisons and diseases as well as finding substances in bioterrorist attacks."
Now it makes more sense... (Score:4, Funny)
"First you get the sugar & gold nanoparticles, then you get the power, then you get the women".
Re:Now it makes more sense... (Score:2)
From TFA: "The research team is also looking into ways of using the detection system to help scene of crime officers analyse biological fluids such as sweat that criminals leave behind."
Don't forget the biological fluids. Women are apparently very keen on biological fluids such as sweat, and possibly some others.Re:Was it found by accident? (Score:1)
Re:Was it found by accident? (Score:1)
Re:Was it found by accident? (Score:2)
Bioterrorism? (Score:5, Insightful)
Mention bioterrorism and you're guaranteed publicity and funding.
Meanwhile, the real [ethicalinvesting.com] bioterrorists [bhopal.org] are never going to be bought to justice.
Re:Bioterrorism? (Score:2)
So... uh... don't buy them? Use the system you've been using so far, which seems to work well enough?
Re:Bioterrorism? (Score:2, Insightful)
You do realise how plants work don't you? It's quite possible for cross pollination to occur without the express written permission of the farmer.
Re:Bioterrorism? (Score:2)
Re:Bioterrorism? (Score:2, Interesting)
That's a bit of a stretch from the Islamofascists who are willfully trying to kill non-believers.
I'm not saying UC isn't culpable, or that the settlement shouldn't have been more substantial, but you're comparing apples and oranges.
Also, how does a US$470,000,000 settlement only come to $300-500 per person unless it's spread out to 1,175,000 people and not the 50,00
Re:Bioterrorism? (Score:5, Informative)
That's a bit of a stretch from the Islamofascists who are willfully trying to kill non-believers.
OK - you're right. Calling them bio-terrorism isn't a correct. But as the powers-that-be are labelling everything they don't like as bio-terrorism, I thought I would do the same. (oh, and not all terrorists are islamic)
I'm not saying UC isn't culpable, or that the settlement shouldn't have been more substantial, but you're comparing apples and oranges.
OK - I am comparing apples & oranges - however, I wanted to highlight the fact that the major chemical and biological threat to people is from negligent or greedy corporations, not some nebulous terrorist threat
Also, how does a US$470,000,000 settlement only come to $300-500 per person unless it's spread out to 1,175,000 people and not the 50,000 mentioned in the article? Perhaps the state used/took some of the money for (I'm hoping) services and to recover their costs for assistance. Look, Bhopal was crappy and I think it has helped India step up to not be treated like a 3rd world nation, but weak analogies like your will not help bring justice.
The 50,000 you mention are those who can't work due to injuries. The settlement also had to pay for the cleanup (still imcomplete), the funerals (and family's) of the 20,000 who died, the 120,000 who suffer ailments (I could go on....)
Re:Bioterrorism? (Score:1)
Ugh, once again... (Score:1)
What you have to understand is that, unlike you and your kin, the world's science community cannot focus on a single issue. We have hundreds of great minds and thousands of average ones studying many different problems at any given time. While some see fit to study ways to make GE'd crops sterile, others study ways to make similar GE'd crops yield 2x as much. You cannot say that either side is bad, both are looking out for their
Re:Ugh, once again... (Score:2)
I made no comment about the world science community. I made critcism of two corporations who have behaved atrociously.
The world science community can (and should) do whatever the hell it likes, but I reserve my right to critcize the way people utilize their findings.
Re:Bioterrorism? (Score:2)
Re:Bioterrorism? (Score:1)
Re:Why nano? (Score:3, Interesting)
Just a guess, but gold is pretty dense stuff.
Re:Why nano? (Score:1)
Re:Why nano? (Score:1)
Yup. Micron sized gold particles will settle out.
Additionally, the readout is with visible light--a change in color from red to blue. Micron sized particles, even if shaken to form a relatively uniform suspension, will scatter visible light and interfere with your detection (the solution will look cloudy). 16 nm particles will form a clear solution that will allow you to accurately measure the color by absorbance without interference fro
I for one . . . . (Score:1)
Re:Any toxin? (Score:5, Informative)
I know its a little much to expect an ac to read the article, but right in there: So - you're going to need a special 'receptor' sugar for each toxin type.
Re:Any toxin? (Score:2, Insightful)
That doesn't neccessarily have to pose a challenge to having a substance cabable of detecting a wide variety of toxins. It may be possible to mix several of these particles in a cocktail. But then, if these particles are supposed to be readable by eyesight (in sufficient quantity, that is), then additional equipment may be needed in order to read the results of measurements using the substance.
But then, I know very little about al
Re:Any toxin? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Any toxin? (Score:1)
FUD (Score:5, Insightful)
Suddenly, a new way to detect toxins isn't notable because it helps those with medical conditions, but rather because it hinders terrorists from achieving their goals... not that it isn't a good side effect or anything.
What's next? "New construction techniques defend against terrorist bombings"?
Re:FUD (Score:3, Interesting)
uh, since The Oklahoma City bombing that has been started. ~sigh~
the series "Frontlines of Construction" [ on Discovery Channel usually ] has covered how the construction industry is now engineering to protect against terrorist attacks. Simple things like stopping vehicles from parking close to the front of the building to more complex items like improving structural design to handle massive bomb damage and avoid catastrophic fai
Re:FUD (Score:2)
What do you mean with "notable for its own worth" anyway? You mean you should be able to judge an invention without knowing the po
Jeez... (Score:2)
I thought this sounded familiar... (Score:1)
Re:I thought this sounded familiar... (Score:2, Informative)
Well, I meant to put this link in: http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/03/
"when any toxin is found"? (Score:4, Interesting)
At 1000mg / dose, Tylenol is an effective, safe non-addictive pain releiver.
At 7000mg / dose, it causes irreversible liver damage in most adults without the antidote.
Poisoning by Iron supplements used to be a very common cause of poison deaths among children until there were mandated safety caps for iron supplements.
So again, what is a "toxin"?
SirWired
Re:"when any toxin is found"? (Score:2)
If only you'd RTFA before posting, you'd see that a PARTICULAR sugar (not just sugar as the summary suggests) is bound to the gold to detect a PARTICULAR toxin.
What's a "toxin"? (Score:2)
Why, a "toxin" is any vague, mysterious, ill-defined "bad thing" that whatever magic water, magnets, or pseudo-religious ritual-for-hire that the peddler is selling is supposed to make go away, of course.
Seriously, I think "toxin", "detoxify", and other variations of the word used outside of an actual poison-studying-scientist publication is pretty much an automatic sign that the writer/speaker/salesdrone is blowing smoke.
(In fairness, TFA actually IS about poison-studying-scientists though...)
The gold n
How ... (Score:1)
Someone was walking around the office one day with a cup of sugar and tripped and spilled it into the vat of gold nanoparticles???
so... (Score:2, Funny)
(Shameless theft of riff from and apologies to Mary Poppins)
Horn of the Unicorn (Score:2)
Life imitates art and art imitates life, but which is it this time
Re:Horn of the Unicorn (Score:2)
Re:Horn of the Unicorn (Score:2)
eh? (Score:2)
Re:eh? (Score:2)
The unicorn horns were used for both detecting and neutralizing poisons. To neutralize the poison, you would probably like to find out whether there is a poison in the first place.
http://www.unicornlady.net/treasures.html [unicornlady.net]
As for the obscure sci-fi-reference, I think it's "The Warlock in Spite of Himself" by Cristopher Stasheff, where the reluctant hero uses a toxin diagnostic device which he claims -- knowing it to be false -- to be the horn of a unicorn.
Re:Horn of the Unicorn (Score:1)
For Fuck's sake (Score:2)
Re:For Fuck's sake (Score:2)
Re:For Fuck's sake (Score:2)
I'd be okay if someone wants to go back in time and kill him.
Re:For Fuck's sake (Score:1)
Re:Gold Nanoparticle Synthesis (Score:2)
Actually, it is more likely that the binding of the toxin perturbs the surface plasmon of the nanoparticle (as it is the surface
Re:Gold Nanoparticle Synthesis (Score:1)
Isn't this a (easy to be found) dupe? (Score:2)
Re:Isn't this a (easy to be found) dupe? (Score:2)
This is different... (Score:1)
Apparently scientist have found a new way to spread the wealth.
Joke for uk/au nerds (Score:1)
I am dubious. (Score:2)
If this really worked, I wouldn't get a hangover after downing a bottle of Goldschlager, now would I???
Biological Litmus Test (Score:2)
And what they don't say is that it's probable that there are many "toxins" for which no such marker exists. And that it's probable for one marker to react to more than one dissolved substance, possibly leading to false positives.
It's a cute trick, though, making the gold stay with the sugar in a solution. It'd be interesting to see how often it dissolves off before detecting an
Goldschlager! (Score:1)