ANY OLD BITE: Snake bites, bee stings and many other things can fill your blood with venom. So how can that venom be removed? The answer may lie in a nanosponge invented by researchers at the University of California. The nanosponges are made of a biocompatible polymer core wrapped in a natural red blood cell membrane. In tests with mice the nanosponges lowered mortality rates to around a half or even a tenth, depending on when the nanoparticles were injected. This means the nanosponges could be used as a generic therapy for toxins, rather than the current method of using specific remedies for specific bites and stings. Perhaps that could eventually mean an over the counter kit travellers could carry for emergency use.
VISIBLE BRAIN:
Researchers have problems studying the brain because they simply can't see through the lipids or fats that surround each cell. Instead they have to slice a brain into sheets only a fraction of a millimetre thick and study each sheet separately. In the process they may sever vital connections or introduce deformities. A new technique from Stanford University called Clarity uses a
to replace the lipids that hold everything in place. The result is a brain that is
