The 2010 Nobel Prize in physics was awarded today to two scientists for their experiments with ultra-thin, flexible carbon sheets called graphene. Since the Nobellists created the single-atom-thick material in free-standing form six years ago, the wonder material has been used in all sorts of technologies including touch screens, solar cells and computer chips.

But graphene has also found its way into many important biomedical applications. Most notably, graphene is being touted as the ideal material for speeding up and simplifying the process of DNA sequencing. For example, in a paper published in Nature last month, researchers from Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology drilled tiny holes through single layers of graphene to form nanopores through which single DNA molecules can travel.

Researchers have also combined DNA with graphene to form stable biosensors capable of detecting biologically derived electronic signals that might be used to diagnose disease. And a study published last month showed that graphene sheets can be used together with phototherapy to target tumors in living mice.

A quick Web-search failed to detect the word ‘graphene’ amidst the pages of Nature Medicine. But with the field of nanotechnology increasingly invading the world of biomedicine, I don’t imagine it won’t be long before this life sciences journal features the Nobel prizewinning physical nanomaterial.

Image of graphene-based nanopore from Nature 467, 190-193 (2010).