Researchers use AFM to determine nature of halogen bonds

Researchers studied the nature of halogen bond between fluorine atoms.

New 'designer carbon' boosts battery performance

Scientists have created a new carbon material that significantly boosts the performance of energy-storage technologies.

Beyond crystallography: Diffractive imaging using coherent x-ray light sources

A new paper reviews and analyzes the rapid development of brilliant X-ray sources that scientists worldwide have used for a broad range of applications of his invention in physical and biological sciences.

Even steps to quantum computation

A rare class of quantum state that could be useful in information processes is observed in a two-dimensional oxide material system.

Physicists conduct most precise measurement yet of interaction between atoms and carbon surfaces

Physicists have conducted the most precise and controlled measurements yet of the interaction between the atoms and molecules that comprise air and the type of carbon surface used in battery electrodes and air filters - key information for improving those technologies.

NIOSH and P3NANO sign MOU to advance knowledge of cellulose-based nanotechnology

The partnership between NIOSH and P3NANO will serve as a platform for occupational safety and health research as well as educational and business initiatives leading to the development of new risk management guidance, recommendations, and findings relating to the potential human health impacts of exposure to nanoscale cellulose materials.

Breakthrough heralds super-efficient light-based computers

Light can transmit more data while consuming far less power than electricity, and an engineering feat brings optical data transport closer to replacing wires.

Chemists discover key reaction mechanism behind the highly touted sodium-oxygen battery

Chemists have described a key mediation pathway that explains why sodium-oxygen batteries are more energy efficient compared with their lithium-oxygen counterparts.

Could computers reach light speed?

Trapped light waves go farther than expected, giving insights on designing computer circuit interconnects that work at nearly the speed of light.

Spiraling laser pulses could change the nature of graphene

A new study predicts that researchers could use spiraling pulses of laser light to change the nature of graphene, turning it from a metal into an insulator and giving it other peculiar properties that might be used to encode information.

Magnetization dynamics in a checkerboard optical lattice

Scientists studied the magnetic and motional dynamics of atoms in a specially designed laser-based lattice that looks like a checkerboard.

A foundation for nanotechnology education

The Nanotechnology Applications and Career Knowledge Network initiated the development of two new standards: Guide for Workforce Education in Nanotechnology Health and Safety, and Practice for Workforce Education in Nanotechnology Characterization.

bioresorbable electronic stent could provide feedback and therapy - then dissolve

Scientists a new kind of multi-tasking stent that could minimize the risks associated with a procedure to unblock clogged arteries. It can sense blood flow and temperature, store and transmit the information for analysis and can be absorbed by the body after it finishes its job.

Nanotechnology helps protect patients from bone infection

Scientists have discovered nanotechnology could hold the key to preventing deep bone infections, after developing a treatment which prevents bacteria and other harmful microorganisms growing.

Physicists solve quantum tunneling mystery

An international team of scientists studying ultrafast physics have solved a mystery of quantum mechanics, and found that quantum tunneling is an instantaneous process.

Nanosilver and the future of antibiotics

Precious metals like silver and gold have biomedical properties that have been used for centuries, but how do these materials effectively combat the likes of cancer and bacteria without contaminating the patient and the environment?

Linking superconductivity and structure

Superconductivity is a rare physical state in which matter is able to conduct electricity without any resistance. It can only be found in certain materials, and even then it can only be achieved under controlled conditions of low temperatures and high pressures. New research hones in on the structural changes underlying superconductivity in iron arsenide compounds - those containing iron and arsenic.

Experiments in the realm of the impossible

Physicists simulate for the first time charged Majorana particles - elementary particles, which are not supposed to exist.

Seeing the action involved in cell membrane hemifusion

Researchers develop a novel device to image the minute forces and actions involved in cell membrane hemifusion.

Squeezed quantum cats

Researchers reach deep into their bag of tricks to create so-called 'squeezed Schrodinger cats'. These quantum systems could be extremely useful for future technologies.

Shedding light on untapped information in photons

Fundamental science effort aims to reveal maximum information contained in photons to guide development of future imaging technologies.

Researchers develop a semiconductor chip made almost entirely of wood

A new paper demonstrates the feasibility of replacing the substrate, or support layer, of a computer chip, with cellulose nanofibril, a flexible, biodegradable material made from wood.

Who needs water to assemble DNA? Non-aqueous solvent supports DNA nanotechnology

Scientists around the world are using the programmability of DNA to assemble complex nanometer-scale structures. Until now, however, production of these artificial structures has been limited to water-based environments, because DNA naturally functions inside the watery environment of living cells. Researchers have now shown that they can assemble DNA nanostructures in a solvent containing no water.

New technique speeds nanoMRI imaging

Multiplexing technique for nanoscale magnetic resonance imaging developed by researchers in Switzerland cuts normal scan time from two weeks to two days.

New carbon nanomaterial created from compressed benzene

One-dimensional material has a diamond-like building block.

Nanotechnology identifies brain tumor types through MRI 'virtual biopsy'

If laboratory research with mice is borne out in human studies, the results could be used to deliver nano-scale drugs that can distinguish and fight tumor cells in the brain without resorting to surgery.

Computational physicists advance understanding of electrical vortices in certain materials

Computational physicists have developed a novel method that accurately reveals how electrical vortices affect electronic properties of materials that are used in a wide range of applications, including cell phones and military sonar.

A new formulation of quantum mechanics

A new formulation of quantum mechanics has been developed, called the 'Signed Particle Formulation'.

Slip sliding away: Graphene and diamonds prove a slippery combination

Scientists have found a way to use tiny diamonds and graphene to give friction the slip, creating a new material combination that demonstrates the rare phenomenon of 'superlubricity'.

Fine-tuned molecular orientation is key to more efficient solar cells

Polymer solar cells are a hot area of research due to both their strong future potential and the significant challenges they pose. Using carefully designed materials and an 'inverted' architecture, a team of scientists has achieved efficiency of 10 percent, bringing these cells close to the threshold of commercial viability.

One step closer to a single-molecule device

Researchers first to create a single-molecule diode - the ultimate in miniaturization for electronic devices - with potential for real-world applications.

DNA double helix does double duty in assembling arrays of nanoparticles

Synthetic pieces of biological molecule form framework and glue for making nanoparticle clusters and arrays.

Engineering phase changes in nanoparticle arrays

Scientists alter attractive and repulsive forces between DNA-linked particles to make dynamic, phase-shifting forms of nanomaterials.

Table-top extreme UV laser system heralds imaging at the nanoscale

Researchers have developed a cost-effective alternative for generating bright beams of extreme UV radiation suitable for nanoscale imaging.

Nanostructures increase corrosion resistance in metallic body implants

Researchers studied the corrosion and immunity behavior of a new type of nanostructures and used them in the production of metallic body implants.

Nonfriction literature

National Science Foundation supports joint Lehigh University-DuPont research into tribology - industry's hidden profit killer.

Atomic-level flyovers show how radiation bombardment boosts superconductivity

Atomic-level flyovers show how impact sites of high-energy ions pin potentially disruptive vortices to keep high-current superconductivity flowing.

UCF's new nanotechnology Master's degree is first in Florida

UCF is now the first and only university in Florida to offer a research-focused master's degree in nanoscience.

Nanotechnology-based therapeutic platform to treat biofilm infection in chronic wounds

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded Kent State University's Min-Ho Kim a $1,842,350 five-year grant. The grant is to develop 'nanobombs', a nanotechnology-based therapeutic platform that can treat biofilm infection in chronic wounds.

Slinky lookalike 'hyperlens' helps see tiny objects

The photonics advancement could improve early cancer detection, nanoelectronics manufacturing and scientists' ability to observe single molecules.

Physicists develop efficient method of signal transmission from nanocomponents

Physicists have developed an innovative method that could enable the efficient use of nanocomponents in electronic circuits. To achieve this, they have developed a layout in which a nanocomponent is connected to two electrical conductors, which uncouple the electrical signal in a highly efficient manner.

Nanocup with a pearl of gold

Double Janus nanoparticles are transformed into purely inorganic, cup-shaped dynamic inclusion bodies for colloid design.

Nanotechnology project on molecular machines receives its third round of funding

German Research Foundation provides millions of euros of funding for the development of new medicines and materials at Kiel university.

Nanotherapy effective in mice with multiple myeloma

Researchers have designed a nanoparticle-based therapy that is effective in treating mice with multiple myeloma, a cancer of immune cells in the bone marrow.

New software allows simulation of molecular dynamics in large systems

Scientists have developed a software package called GENESIS (GENeralized Ensemble SImulation System) which is designed to perform molecular dynamics (MD) simulations for studying large biological systems containing 10 or even 100 million atoms.

Artificial muscles get graphene boost

Researchers have developed an electrode consisting of a single-atom-thick layer of carbon to help make more durable artificial muscles.

Mission possible: This device will self-destruct when heated

Researchers have developed heat-triggered self-destructing electronic devices, a step toward greatly reducing electronic waste and boosting sustainability in device manufacturing. They also developed a radio-controlled trigger that could remotely activate self-destruction on demand.

Wider channels for faster detoxification

Zirconium-based metal-organic framework rapidly and efficiently degrades nerve agents.

Large-scale simulations of atom dynamics

Researchers develop a new method for simulating previously unstudied complex matter.

Simulations predict 2D flat liquid

Computer simulations have predicted a new phase of matter: atomically thin two-dimensional liquid. This prediction pushes the boundaries of possible phases of materials further than ever before.

How to make continuous rolls of graphene

New manufacturing process could take exotic material out of the lab and into commercial products.

Turn that defect upside down

Twin boundaries - which are small, symmetrical defects in materials - may present an opportunity to improve lithium-ion batteries. The twin boundary defects act as energy highways and could help get better performance out of the batteries.

Researchers measure thermoelectric behavior by 'Tinkertoy' materials

Researchers have made the first measurements of thermoelectric behavior by a nanoporous metal-organic framework (MOF), a development that could lead to an entirely new class of materials for such applications as cooling computer chips and cameras and energy harvesting.

Defects can 'Hulk-up' materials

Researchers demonstrated that by irradiating a thermoelectric semiconductor with high-energy alpha particles, they can control native defects in the crystal so that these defects actually enhance the performance of the thermoelectric material by a factor of up to ten.

Porous platinum superparticles make better catalysts

Scientists have developed a generalized strategy for the synthesis of mesoporous colloidal superparticles made of nanocrystals of platinum-group metals through self-limited growth of metal nanocrystals (or precursors) and silver halide in individual colloidal particles.

Researchers form complete nanobatteries inside nanopores

Electrochemical nanostructures for enhanced electrode materials and solid state battery.

Amazing microdroplet structures may lead to new technologies

Rersearchers have created unexpected shapes of mesoscale atoms - structures built of microdroplets encapsulated within microdroplets. The discovery was possible with a new method for precise control over placement of tiny segments of liquid, one in another. With further progress in innovative microfluidic systems, the method may find use in medicine and materials science.

Nanosensors make robots more human

Most people are naturally adept at reading facial expressions - from smiling and frowning to brow-furrowing and eye-rolling - to tell what others are feeling. Now scientists have developed ultra-sensitive, wearable sensors that can do the same thing.