New study describes conduction through proteins

Researchers investigate a recently discovered feat carried out by enzymes, and most likely, all proteins. Under proper conditions, they can act as superb conductors of electricity, permitting them to be incorporated into a range of electronic devices.

Syringe-injectable, self-expandable and ultraconformable magnetic nanosheets for smart drug delivery

The ultrathin films are able to be injected using minimally-invasive syringe needles and can be used as a platform to deliver molecular and cellular drugs.

Nanocrystals help magnesium batteries go on-the-move

A study revealed a combination of nanometer-scale features that were key to improving the battery?s performance. In particular, they found it was important for extremely tiny crystals of Mg to form on the anode as the battery worked.

Promising discovery could lead to a better, cheaper perovskite solar cell

Researchers have gained tantalizing new insights into the properties of perovskites, one of the world's most promising materials in the quest to produce a more efficient, robust and cheaper solar cell.

Scientists tame Josephson vortices

Physicists have learned how to locally control Josephson vortices. The discovery can be used for quantum electronics superconducting devices and future quantum processors.

Sponge-like 2D material with interesting electrical conductivity and magnetic properties

Chemists have reported the synthesis of a novel type of 2D metal organic framework (MOF) with interesting electrical conductivity and magnetic properties. This new material may potentially contribute to optoelectronics, photovoltaics, (photo)electrocatalysis, and energy storage.

Visible light and nanoparticle catalysts produce desirable bioactive molecules

Simple photochemical method takes advantage of quantum mechanics.

Bundlemers (new polymer units) could transform industries

Scientists have created a new fundamental unit of polymers that could usher in a new era of materials discovery.

A plethora of states in magic-angle graphene

Researchers use twisted bi-layer graphene to unveil a new zoo of previously unobserved states, from superconducting to insulating to a new range of magnetic and topological states.

Nanotechnology breakthrough enables conversion of infrared light to energy

Researchers have developed technology to tap into infrared light for solar energy conversion and increase solar cell efficiency by 10 percent or more.

Tiny swimming donuts deliver the goods

Microscopic, 3D-printed, tori - donuts ­ - coated with nickel and platinum may bridge the gap between biological and synthetic swimmers, according to an international team of researchers.

Detailed insights into the structure of nanocapsules used for drug delivery

Scientists want to understand in as much detail as possible how the container molecules and the active substances arrange and what properties result from this.

Microrobots clean up radioactive waste (w/video)

Researchers have developed tiny, self-propelled robots that remove radioactive uranium from simulated wastewater.

A stretchable stopwatch lights up human skin

Researchers have developed a stretchable light-emitting device that operates at low voltages and is safe for human skin.

An electronic signal expands material by a factor of 100

Researchers have discovered a material that can both increase and reduce its volume when exposed to a weak electrical pulse. In a sponge, or filter, the researchers can control the size of particles that pass through.

Nanoelectronics simulations to identify optimal heat-evacuating properties

Team simulates nanoelectronics through data-centric lens, gaining a 140-fold speedup on the Summit supercomputer.

Researchers use light emitted from nanoparticles to intricately control biological processes

New nanoparticles can adjust the beating speed of heart cells by emitting different colours of light. Light from nanoparticle clusters was also able to activate anticancer drugs within cells.

Materials scientists detail unexpected distortions in self-assembling polymers

Scientists report their characterization of a soft-matter double gyroid. What they briefly thought would be a perfect double gyroid, its curving arrangement of nodes and rods repeating ad infinitum, was not to be. They found instead their hoped-for cubic construction was full of distortions.

Scientists synthesized light with new intrinsic chirality to tell mirror molecules apart

Researchers have shown how to generate and characterize an entirely new type of light, synthetic chiral light, which identifies molecules' handedness exceptionally distinctly.

Development of mass production equipment for thin magnetic ribbon, minimizing energy-loss

Energy-saving benefits expected in a wide variety of devices through substituting magnetic steel sheets.

Topological nanoelectronics

Physicists have succeeded for the first time in constructing an essential element a fundamentally new generation of electronic components - a Quantum Point Contact.

How to move against the current? One answer is 'tilt'-illating

Going upstream, and against a current, involves a front-first downward tilt and then moving along a surface, shows new research by a team of scientists, which created nanomotors to uncover this effective means of locomotion under such conditions.

An amazingly simple recipe for nanometer-sized corundum

Until now, the practical production of nanocorundum with a sufficiently high porosity has not been possible. The situation has changed radically with the presentation of a new method of nanocorundum production.

Small magnets reveal big secrets

An international research team has identified a microscopic process of electron spin dynamics in nanoparticles that could impact the design of applications in medicine, quantum computation, and spintronics.

New research finding gives valleytronics a boost

An international research team has revealed a new quantum process in valleytronics that can speed up the development of this fairly new technology.

How do you know it's perfect graphene? The answer has been there all along

Scientists have discovered an indicator that reliably demonstrates a sample's high quality, and it was one that was hiding in plain sight for decades.

Microscale rockets can travel through cellular landscapes

A new study shows how tiny robotic vessels powered by acoustic waves and an on-board bubble motor can be maneuvered through cellular landscapes using magnets.

Micromotors push around single cells and particles

A new type of micromotor - powered by ultrasound and steered by magnets - can move around individual cells and microscopic particles in crowded environments without damaging them. The technology could open up new possibilities for targeted drug delivery, nanomedicine, tissue engineering, regenerative medicine and other biomedical applications.

Can solar technology kill cancer cells?

Scientists have revealed a new way to detect and attack cancer cells using technology traditionally reserved for solar power. The results showcases dramatic improvements in light-activated fluorescent dyes for disease diagnosis, image-guided surgery and site-specific tumor treatment.

Nano-size food additives affect nutrient uptake in worms

Nanoparticles from silicon dioxide are added to food products for example as anticaking agent. Recent research results from the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans show that within the intestinal cells of the roundworm nanosilica disturb the uptake and use of digested proteins.

Super-strong magnetic supercrystals can assemble themselves

Materials scientists who work with nano-sized components have developed ways of working with their vanishingly small materials. But what if you could get your components to assemble themselves into different structures without actually handling them at all?

Catalytic immunotherapy for cancer: nanoparticles act as artificial enzymes

Increasing anti-tumor immunity might now be made possible, thanks to copper telluride nanoparticles that mimic enzymes, especially under NIR-II light irradiation. This induces oxidative stress in tumor cells, quashing their immunosuppressive status and triggering inflammatory processes.

Physicists take a step toward using insulating antiferromagnetic materials in future computers

Physicists observe reading and writing of digital information with antiferromagnetic materials.

Hydrogen boride nanosheets: A promising material for hydrogen carrier

Scientists report a promising hydrogen carrier in the form of hydrogen boride nanosheets. This two-dimensional material, which has only recently begun to be explored, could go on to be used as safe, light-weight, high-capacity hydrogen storage materials.

Building single-atom qubits under a microscope

Researchers made a breakthrough in controlling the quantum behavior of individual atoms, demonstrating a versatile new building block for quantum computation.

Living on the edge: How a 2D material got its shape

Scientists discover that nanoparticles' 'edge energy' gets them in 2D shape for energy storage applications.

Plastic nanoparticles make larval zebrafish hyperactive

Researchers observed that a certain type of nanoparticles leads to stress reactions in the sugar balance, resulting in hyperactivity in the fish larvae.

Nanoscale deformation mechanics reveal mystery of nature's toughest material

Nacre, the rainbow-sheened material that lines the insides of mussel and other mollusk shells, is known as nature's toughest material. Now, a team of researchers has revealed precisely how it works, in real time.

Pre-programmed microfluidic systems offer new control capabilities

New breakthrough could lead to microfluidic devices that are more portable, scalable.

Scientists close to integrating silicon electronics and spintronics

Researchers have developed nanoheterostructures, which can be used as a source of spin-polarized electrons for the semiconductor silicon substrate.

Rethinking the science of plastic recycling

New catalytic method with nanoparticles could mitigate global plastic pollution.

Flexible, transparent and cost-effective lasers

Researchers have produced novel transparent, all-polymer DBF lasers. The DBF lasers make use of the periodic wavelength-scale nanostructures to backscatter photons for constructive interference.

Excitons will shape the future of electronic devices

It's a whole new way of thinking about electronics. Excitons - or quasiparticles formed when electrons absorb light - stand to revolutionize the building blocks of circuits. Scientists have been studying their extraordinary properties in order to design more energy-efficient electronic systems, and have now found a way to better control excitons moving in semiconductors.

Revealing the nanostructure of wood could help raise height limits for wooden skyscrapers

Researchers have captured the visible nanostructure of living wood for the first time using an advanced low-temperature scanning electron microscope.

Magnetics with a twist: Scientists find new way to image spins

Researchers have put a new spin on measuring and controlling spins in nickel oxide, with an eye toward improving electronic devices? speed and memory capacity.

'Artificial leaf' successfully produces clean gas

A widely-used gas that is currently produced from fossil fuels can instead be made by an 'artificial leaf' that uses only sunlight, carbon dioxide and water, and which could eventually be used to develop a sustainable liquid fuel alternative to petrol.

Biological material boosts perovskite solar cell performance

Next-generation solar cells that mimic photosynthesis with biological material may give new meaning to the term 'green technology'. Adding the protein bacteriorhodopsin to perovskite solar cells boosted the efficiency of the devices in a series of laboratory tests, according to an international team of researchers.

Neural network technique identifies mechanisms of ferroelectric switching

AI reveals domain-geometry-driven differences in ferroelectric switching, important for next-generation computing; approach could be applied to electron microscopy, agriculture, astronomy and other systems mapped through hyperspectral imaging.

Unique properties of quantum material explained for first time

Scientists have determined characteristics of a new, iron-containing type of material that is thought to have future applications in nanotechnology and spintronics.

Porous polymer coatings dynamically control light and heat

New inexpensive, scalable design takes advantage of the optical switchability of porous polymers; could be used for heating, cooling, and lighting buildings, as well as camouflage applications.