Rice U. wants to light up your intestines

Rice University, one of the more active universities in nanotechnology, has won a five-year, $3 million federal grant to teach students in nanophotonics, or the science of designing and making molecules that emit light.

The university will concentrate on particles for living systems, or, in other words, the bodies of people, plants and animals. Scientists believe that luminous particles (that would latch onto specific proteins) could allow doctors to more easily identify tumors or other anomalies during the early stages of growth and hence save more patients. Quantum Dot and General Electric are working on similar projects.