Researchers have found that colon cancer cells shrink after taking in certain natural-organic-coated nanoparticles. They also showed that the uptake of nanoparticles by rice plantsappears to aid transmission of the nanoparticles through subsequent growth cycles. Little is actually known about the fate, transport, modification and accumulation of nanoparticles in biological and ecological settings. This project will help researchers protect the environment and human health from potential downsides of these new technologies. Here, you see nanoparticles within a rice plant leaf cell. Credit: JoAn Hudson, Sijie Lin and Pu-Chun Ke, Clemson University
