Additionally, the nanofibers in these hollow microspheres do not generate much degradation byproducts that could hurt the cells, he says.

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Vivek Nair, 23, of Singapore, who started Damascus Fortune, an organization in India that has developed a technology to produce carbon nanotubes and carbon nanofibers from industrial flue gas.

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"We need to determine the long-term effect in animals, and we need to determine the optimal time window" when the VEGF nanofibers need to be administered, said Dr. Hsieh.

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"We saw more than fivefold artery growth compared with the controls, " which included one group of animals that only got VEGF and another that got the nanofibers without the VEGF.

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In Chattanooga, Tenn. the industry includes something very different: ESpin Technologies, a 19-employee outfit that makes nanofibers--filaments of polyester, nylon or other polymers that are only 20 to 200 nanometers wide.

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There are nanofibers, and then there is the tourbillon.

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