Circumstellar discs: What will be next?

This prospective chapter gives our view on the evolution of the study of circumstellar discs within the next 20 years from both observational and theoretical sides. We first present the expected improvements in our knowledge of protoplanetary discs as for their masses, sizes, chemistry, the presence of planets as well as the evolutionary processes shaping these discs. We then explore the older debris disc stage and explain what will be learnt concerning their birth, the intrinsic links between these discs and planets, the hot dust and the gas detected around main sequence stars as well as discs around white dwarfs.Comment: invited review; comments welcome (32 pages

Nanoparticles in Medical Imaging

© Springer Science+Business Media New York 2013. And Gregor Cevc 2013. All rights reserved. Research output in the area of medical and molecular imaging has grown exponentially in the last decade. A key driver of this endeavour stems from the insight that a much more detailed understanding of the biological basis of disease and the body’s interactions with therapeutics will be required to drive the next stage of medical and therapeutic development. Medical and molecular imaging techniques today increasingly allow us to study biological process in the individual in real time. Nanoparticles have proven to be highly versatile structures that can be engineered to change their biological properties systematically. In this chapter we will examine how the use of nanoparticles as imaging agents (contrast agents, dyes, probes, or labels) can help to improve the imaging output. The key properties of the most important in vivo imaging modalities applicable to pre-clinical and clinical use will be examined and key examples of the application of nanoparticles discussed