Understanding ceramic materials' 'mortar' may reveal ways to improve them

New research shows that in the important ceramic material silicon carbide, carbon atoms collect at those grain boundaries when the material is exposed to radiation. The finding could help engineers better understand the properties of ceramics and could aid in fine-tuning a new generation of ceramic materials.

New double-contrast technique picks up small tumors on MRI

A new technique offers a significant advance in using magnetic resonance imaging to pick out even very small tumors from normal tissue.

Researchers obtain 2D magnetism in both carbon and polyradical nanosheets

Scientists report that they have obtained edge-induced room-temperature ferromagnetism in both carbon nanosheets and two-dimension (2D) organic antiferromagnetic polyradical nanosheets.

Watching single protons moving at water-solid interfaces

A new study has provided the first-ever glimpse of the behavior of protons when water comes into contact with a solid surface, going down to the ultimate scale of single proton and single charge.

New molecules for innovative high-tech materials

Sandwich compounds based on rare earths might serve as novel molecular materials for more efficient storage media or displays in future.

Microbial cyborgs: Bacteria supplying power

One day, 'microbial cyborgs' might be used in fuel cells, biosensors, or bioreactors. Scientists have created the necessary prerequisite by developing a programmable, biohybrid system consisting of a nanocomposite and the Shewanella oneidensis bacterium that produces electrons.

Record-high data transmission using a soliton crystal

An international team of researchers has developed an efficient way to create micro-combs and exploit them in highly performing and robust frequency multiplexed optical fibre networks.