Image description:
At first glance, a bird takes flight towards the sunset, but it is actually a star-shaped gold nanoparticle. This shape, which in the image evokes a bird in flight, is of interest in biomedical research. These nanoparticles are being studied as potential drug carriers, designed to cross complex biological barriers such as the blood-brain barrier and facilitate therapies targeting the brain. The image was obtained by electron microscopy, a technique for observing and characterizing materials at the nanometric scale, and is part of nanomedicine research carried out at CEDENNA. The scene works as a visual metaphor of a small golden traveler opening new routes in medicine.
Authors: Fabián Araneda, Benjamín Peñaloza and Marcelo Kogan.
TEACHING ACTIVITY
- Biology, 11th–12th grade (3°–4° medio):
Analyze scientific advances related to health and biomedicine.
Key concepts
Nervous system · Scientific research · Nanomedicine · Scientific metaphor
Exploring to understand
Based on the image, students reflect on the ideas it conveys (connection, path, exploration). It is then explained that scientific research uses nanoscale materials and technologies to study and support the functioning of the nervous system.
In groups, they identify questions that still exist about the brain and discuss why science needs to study what cannot be seen.
Questions for reflection
- Why is it important to research the brain?
- Which scientific challenges still have no answer?
- How does nanoscience help health?
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Below we invite you to watch the video in which engineer Fabián Araneda explains what his work involved and how he did it together with two CEDENNA researchers.
