The innovations introduced in the field of science and technology are playing an important role in changing the map of the world and making life easier. Thanks to these inventions, the treatment of life-threatening diseases is becoming easier and easier.

Some of these inventions are being mentioned below.

The fight against cancer

When the size of any material is reduced to the nanometer range, its special properties emerge. As a result of the extraordinary properties of these materials, the field of nanotechnology is the creative material, which is the most important field of science and technology of the present era. A nanometer is one billionth of a meter (or one millionth of a millimeter), and nanotechnology involves a material whose size is equal to this 100 nanometers (nm).

The scale involved can be estimated by considering that the diameter of the DNA double helix is 2 nm, while the shortest cell form of life, a bacterium of the genus Mycoplasma, is 200 nm long. The biggest problem in treating cancer patients with chemotherapy is that the drug also attacks normal healthy cells, resulting in severe side effects.

Scientists are looking for ways to selectively target cancer cells and use a "shotgun" approach to target them, protecting normal healthy cells from the harmful effects of these drugs, along with cancer cells. 

If only the target is targeted, the amount of drug used will also be significantly reduced because a small amount of the drug will target all cancer cells. It will also avoid its harmful side effects. Scientists at Northwestern University have developed gold nanoparticles that will target only the nucleus of cancer cells.

The drug will be used against cancer cells that will be attached to star-shaped gold nanoparticles. Inside these nanoparticles will be filled with only the cancer drug that will be attached to a protein on the surface of the cancer cells. This protein will act like a small shuttle service, delivering the nanostar to the cell nucleus, and then only the cancer cells will be killed.

Its preparation requires the implementation of a training program and system through which the products manufactured in the country comply with minimum set international standards. This system is called MSTQ (Methodology, Standards, Testing, and Quality).

Supremacy in science and technology

We live in a strange and fascinating world of science. The amount of knowledge that mankind has acquired since the beginning of the planet will double in just the next eight years. These are mind-boggling figures that reflect the scientific explosion that has taken place in the last 5 to 10 years. The shift from East to West in terms of new information capabilities is clearly visible. 

Especially with regard to China and India. The large young populations of these two countries are training in modern institutions in the hundreds of thousands, and their effects on the socio-economic development of these countries are starting to be seen. The GDP of these countries is seeing a steady increase of 7 to 10 percent every year. Nine years ago, the student population of China was only 500,000, but now it has rapidly increased to 2.5 million.

China's important step in the field of space technology

Several years ago, China took a major step forward in space technology, sending an unmanned spacecraft 211 miles above the Earth. With this major step, China has made significant progress towards becoming a major space power. This achievement was first achieved by the United States in 1965.

After that, Russia, Europe, and Japan established their own space stations. Now efforts are underway to develop the first international space station. Due to the rapid development of China, there is a huge investment in the field of science and technology.

Artificial kidneys suitable for transplantation

Thousands and millions of people in the world are suffering from kidney disease, and millions of people die every year due to kidney failure. The only cure for this disease is a kidney transplant. The number of kidney donors is very limited. The last solution left in this regard is dialysis. Through dialysis, the kidneys can perform only 13 percent of their functions.

In this situation, the need for the development of artificial kidneys in the field of science and technology is being felt urgently so that they can be implanted in the patient's body.

Dr. Shuvo Roy of the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), and his colleagues, who belong to the Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences of the said university, have developed the first fully implantable artificial kidney, which consists of thousands of microfilters and bioreactors that mimic the metabolic and water balance functions of the human kidney. The developed system has been successfully tested on animals. 

After this stage is successfully completed, cup-shaped artificial kidneys have been developed. The artificial kidneys do not require any kind of pump or power supply, as they will use the power of human blood pressure for filtration and other functions.

The work was carried out by a collaboration of 10 research teams, including scientists and bioengineers from Cleveland Clinic, Case Western Reserve University, the University of Michigan, Ohio State University, and Benson University. It will still take five years for the artificial kidney to be fully developed and commercially available, but there is hope for the future.

Nanotechnology

The most important scientific breakthrough in the last two decades has been the development of "nanotechnology.". It has numerous applications in food, water, electronics, and other fields. The largest share of the nanotechnology market is in the United States (82%), followed by Japan (42%) and Europe (52%, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom). The uniqueness of nanomaterials is their size.

They are typically between 1 nanometer (nm) and 0.001 nanometer in size. A nanometer is one part in a billion. This is comparable to the size of a piece of Earth or a piece of marble. The field began to flourish in the 1980s. The first advances in the field were made in early 1981 with the scanning tunneling microscope, which could take images at the atomic level.

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Another important development in this regard was the discovery of the carbon football by Harry Croteau, Richard Ismay, and Robert Curl in 1958. The three of them were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize. This was followed by a series of developments in nanotechnology, which included carbon nanotubes, thin carbon sheaths (graphene), and various methods used to produce useful nanomaterials.

Nanomaterials can be used in medicine to produce better drugs because they are more easily absorbed by the human body. They can be used in medical imaging to produce better images of cancerous tissues. Engineered nanoparticles can deliver drugs, heat, light, and other materials only to the affected cells without harming other cells in the body.

In the electronics sector, lightweight display screens have been developed that require less power. In addition, flexible display panels are being produced from nanowires. High-density memory chips and very small transmitters are being manufactured in an integrated circuit, with the help of which more functional and efficient computers can be produced. Investment in nanoelectronic products (electronics) offered in the market has reached 4 trillion dollars.

Nanotechnology has also been found to be useful in food science. It is used for the production and storage of foods. Silver nanoparticles are added to plastic storage containers. Thus, harmful bacteria that come into contact with them are killed.

Zinc oxide nanoparticles are added to plastic film used in packaging, which blocks ultraviolet (UV) rays, thus providing antibacterial protection on the one hand and making the film strong and durable on the other.

By adding nanocapsules to insecticides, their toxic content is targeted to the stomachs of insects, protecting plants and us from these harmful insects.

Nanosensors are being developed that will identify individual plants that need water, fertilizer, or nutrients and will increase the release of these substances as needed. This will overcome the water-induced nutrient depletion in the plant growth process. Other applications of nanotechnology include bulletproof paper made from new cellulose, which is stronger than steel. 

In addition, new lightweight, powerful materials are being used in spacecraft, and longer-lasting batteries are being developed. Nanotechnology is being used to produce strong, lightweight fabrics, tennis rackets, and other sports equipment. The market value of fabrics made using nanotechnology is estimated at $115 billion.