Case Studies

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Artists impression showing a close up of three pale DNA strands against a dark blue background. The centre strand is being impacted and damaged by a bright beam of light

Simulating the effectiveness of radiotherapy at the nanometre scale

One in two people will develop cancer in their lifetime. Radiotherapy, using external sources of radiation, is a common treatment approach. This includes photon sources, such as x-rays and γ-rays, and particles, such as electrons, protons, and carbon ions. Radiation doses must be carefully calculated – too high a level and heal...

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New reference material for light scatter-based sizing of extracellular vesicles

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are biological nanoparticles actively released by cells, comprising of an outer lipid membrane, and containing markers indicative of the cell of origin, and housing an inner aqueous core. Most EVs are 100 nm in diameter or less but can range in size from 30 nm to a few micrometres. EVs are found in ...

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Ensuring the accuracy of breath analysers to enforce drink driving regulations

Since 1938, when the first instrument for detecting alcohol in breath was developed, the ‘breathanalyser’ has become increasingly sophisticated. These instruments determine if a person has potentially consumed alcohol by measuring the concentration of ethanol in air exhaled from their lungs. They are now used by law enforcement...

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An improved method for studying nanometre-sized biological particles

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are small membrane-coated particles (30 nm - 1,000 nm) released from animal and plant cells. Originally thought to be unwanted cellular debris it has since been realised these are actively secreted, contain soluble molecules such as proteins and nucleic acids, and are involved in both normal and pat...

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A driver taking a breath test at the roadside

Sharing metrological knowledge in Europe to reduce alcohol-related road accident

The World Health Organisation has indicated that road traffic accidents are the leading cause of death in children and young adults in the European Region and the EC has estimated that 25 % of such fatalities are due to alcohol. Around 6,500 deaths could be prevented each year in Europe if drivers obeyed drinkdriving regulation...

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3D illustration of the human eye

A new European centre in the fight against glaucoma

The World Health Organization has named glaucoma as the leading cause of irreversible vision loss, responsible for 37.5 % of blindness world-wide. Glaucoma is a chronic disease, and its rate of incidence and progression increases with age. It has been estimated around 112 million patients will be suffering from this disease by ...

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