Nano technology tackles heart disease

A molecule designed to find, latch onto, then treat hardened arteries could offer a new way to tackle heart disease, say its inventors. Nanoburrs, developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), target only damaged cells in blood vessel walls. Once attached, they can release drugs in precisely the right place. But the British Heart Foundation warned the technology was some years from being used in patients. The hardening of the arteries which supply the heart, or atherosclerosis, can eventually lead to blockages which can cause heart attacks. The study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal says specialists normally use tiny balloons to force open the vessels, then place a tube called a stent inside to keep it open