Sustainable nanotechnology center lands new $20 million NSF contract

The Center for Sustainable Nanotechnology, a multi-institutional research center based at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has inked a new contract with the National Science Foundation (NSF) that will provide nearly $20 million in support over the next five years.

New material science research may advance tech tools

Hard, complex materials with many components are used to fabricate some of today's most advanced technology tools. However, little is still known about how the properties of these materials change under specific temperatures, magnetic fields and pressures. Scientists conducted research that advances the understanding of how materials can be manipulated.

Grant to develop in vitro lung test for toxicity of inhaled nanomaterials

The PETA International Science Consortium Ltd. announced today the winners of a $200,000 award for the design of an in vitro test to predict the development of lung fibrosis in humans following exposure to nanomaterials, such as multi-walled carbon nanotubes.

NCI awards $11.7 nanotechnology grant to improve cancer treatments

Northwestern University has received a five-year, $11.7 million grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to use nanotechnology to develop next-generation cancer treatments.

Using ultrathin sheets to discover new class of wrapped shapes

Experimental and theoretical physicists and a polymer scientist have teamed up to use much thinner sheets than before to achieve seeking to encapsulate droplets of one fluid within another. Thinner, highly-bendable sheets lift these constraints and allow for a new class of wrapped shapes.

Mouth guard monitors health markers, transmits information wirelessly to smart phone

Nanoengineers have developed a mouth guard that can monitor health markers, such as lactate, cortisol and uric acid, in saliva and transmit the information wirelessly to a smart phone, laptop or tablet.

Super water-repellant nanocoatings can now take the pressure

Careful tuning of a surface at the nanoscale could lead to robust materials for solar panels, other uses.

Seeing quantum motion

For the first time, researchers have found a way to observe - and control - the quantum motion of an object that is large enough to see.

A nanoengineered surface unsticks sticky water droplets

Researchers have developed the first nano/micro-textured highly slippery surfaces able to outperform lotus leaf-inspired liquid repellent coatings, particularly in situations where the water is in the form of vapor or tiny droplets.

Researchers use DNA 'nanoclews' to shuttle CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing tool into cells

Researchers have for the first time created and used a nanoscale vehicle made of DNA to deliver a CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing tool into cells in both cell culture and an animal model.

Designing bespoke nanomaterials for energy applications

A new paper demonstrates the rapid and scalable production of Zinc Oxide nanomaterials using a technique called electrochemical anodization. The technique can be controlled to give rise to a wide range of interesting structures, with different sizes and shapes, which can be tailored towards specific applications.

New technique could enable design of hybrid glasses and revolutionize gas storage

A new method of manufacturing glass could lead to the production of 'designer glasses' with applications in advanced photonics, whilst also facilitating industrial scale carbon capture and storage.

Draw out of the predicted interatomic force

Liquid Bi shows a peculiar dispersion of the acoustic mode, which is related to the Peierls distortion in the crystalline state. These results will provide valuable inspiration to researchers developing new materials in the nanotechnology field.

Electrons that stick together, superconduct together

A newly uncovered electron-pairing mechanism challenges accepted wisdom in superconductor physics.

Electrons take a phonon bath

A theoretical model enables the first exact and universal description of electrons moving in a 'bath' of atomic vibrations.

Imaging techniques set new standard for super-resolution in live cells (w/video)

New imaging methods dramatically improve the spatial resolution provided by structured illumination microscopy, one of the best imaging techniques for seeing inside living cells.

A new nanoparticle technique to make drugs more soluble

Researchers have developed a new system that can produce stable, amorphous nanoparticles in large quantities that dissolve quickly. But that's not all. The system is so effective that it can produce amorphous nanoparticles from a wide range of materials, including for the first time, inorganic materials with a high propensity towards crystallization, such as table salt.

Getting a picture of the molecules in a cell in just minutes

Scientists can now take a peek into a single plant cell and - within minutes - get a view of the small molecules, including metabolites, hormones, nutrients, and lipids, inside it.

Chemistry professor discovers colour sensor compound for anions

Discovery of a compound that undergoes a colorimetric response to a whole host of different ions. However, the most remarkable facet of the chemistry is that the detecting species is not made directly by the scientist, but because the response spontaneously self-assembles to give a sensor for each specific anion.

Successful boron-doping of graphene nanoribbon

Physicists succeeded in synthesizing boron-doped graphene nanoribbons and characterizing their structural, electronic and chemical properties. The modified material could potentially be used as a sensor for the ecologically damaging nitrogen oxides.

With silicon pushed to its limits, what will power the next electronics revolution?

Silicon electronics faces a challenge: the latest circuits measure just 7nm wide - between a red blood cell (7,500nm) and a single strand of DNA (2.5nm). The size of individual silicon atoms (around 0.2nm) would be a hard physical limit (with circuits one atom wide), but its behaviour becomes unstable and difficult to control before then.

New theory leads to radiationless revolution

Physicists have found a radical new way confine electromagnetic energy without it leaking away, akin to throwing a pebble into a pond with no splash.

Nanofiber 3D tissue scaffold for plants

Miniscule artificial scaffolding units made from nano-fibre polymers and built to house plant cells have enabled scientists to see for the first time how individual plant cells behave and interact with each other in a three-dimensional environment.

3D Vision for the next generation of biomaterials

The University of Nottingham is to lead a GBP6.5m research project which aims to make the leap from 2D to 3D in the development of advanced materials and realise the true potential of regenerative medicine and medical devices for the future.

Supercomputers enlisted to shed light on photosynthesis

Researchers are using high-performance computing to simulate the processes that take place during the first moments of photosynthesis.

Nanocatalysts improve processes for the petrochemical industry

By using supercomputers, researchers create virtual atomic models that interact under different conditions before being taken to the real world, allowing savings in time and money.

Nanoengineered, 3D-printed swiming microrobots

Researchers demonstrate a novel method to build microscopic robots with complex shapes and functionalities.

More efficient chips based on plasmonics are a step closer

More efficient chips based on plasmonics are a step closer to reality through better control of the directional excitation of plasmons in a gold grating.

Finding 'Goldilocks' nanoparticles for catalysis

Simulations show why platinum nanoparticles become less effective catalysts at small sizes.

Silver nanoparticles light up Alzheimer's dark secrets

Scientists have caught a glimpse of the elusive toxic form of the Alzheimer's molecule, during its attempt to bore into the outer covering of a cell decoy, using a new method involving laser light and fat-coated silver nanoparticles.

Thermometry using an optical nanofiber

A new technique to measure ultrcold atoms works by inserting an optical nanofiber into a cold atomic cloud.

LEGO2NANO 2015 kicks off

LEGO2NANO aims to bring the world of nanotechnology to school classrooms by initiating projects to develop low-cost scientific instruments such as the Open AFM - an open-source atomic force microscope assembled from cheap, off-the-shelf electronic components, Arduino, Lego and 3D printable parts.

New review questions current nanotechnology risk assessment

A recent review found some serious shortcomings of the risk assessment process for determining the safety of nanomaterials. The authors argue that these shortcomings are so significant that risk assessment is effectively a naked emperor.

Researchers combine disciplines, computational programs to determine atomic structure

Scientists combined two techniques to determine the structure of cyanostar, a new abiological molecule that captures unwanted negative ions in solutions.

Physicists build stable diffraction structure in single-layer graphene

Quantum physics tell us that even massive particles can behave like waves, as if they could be in several places at once. This phenomenon is typically proven in the diffraction of a matter wave at a grating. In a European collaboration, researchers carried this idea to the extreme and observed the delocalization of molecules at the thinnest possible grating, a mask milled into a single layer of atoms.

Capture sunlight with your quantum dot window

A luminescent solar concentrator is an emerging sunlight harvesting technology that has the potential to disrupt the way we think about energy.

UK funding boost to aid discovery of new advanced materials

The grant will help tackle the challenge of designing and testing new materials at the atomic level.

Probing pattern formation and dynamics of nanoscale 'swarms'

'Flocking' or 'swarming' behavior is omnipresent in the living world, observed in birds, fish, and even bacteria. Strikingly similar collective action can also be seen in biomolecules within and between cells. New insights into how this action is coordinated at the biomolecular level are emerging from studies of a model system based on actin filaments.

Another milestone in hybrid artificial photosynthesis

Having generated quite a buzz with their hybrid system of semiconducting nanowires and bacteria that used electrons to synthesize carbon dioxide into acetate, researchers have now developed a hybrid system that produces renewable molecular hydrogen and uses it to synthesize carbon dioxide into methane, the primary constituent of natural gas.

Self-assembled aromatic molecular stacks, towards modular molecular electronic components

Researchers describe the electron-transport properties of aromatic stacks aligned in a self-assembled cage, using a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) based break-junction method. Both identical and different modular aromatic pairs are non-covalently bound and stacked within the molecular scaffold leading to a variety of fascinating electronic functions.

A little light interaction leaves quantum physicists beaming

A team of physicists have taken a step toward making the essential building block of quantum computers out of pure light. Their advance has to do with a specific part of computer circuitry known as a 'logic gate'.

Interdisciplinary team creates bionanocomposite for first time using physiological conditions

Researchers have discovered, for the first time, a new nanocomposite formed by the self-assembly of copper and a biological component that occurs under physiological conditions, which are similar those found in the human body and could be used in targeted drug delivery for fighting diseases such as cancer.

Crowdsurfing motor proteins create nerve-like polymer nanotube networks

Using a succession of biological mechanisms, researchers have created linkages of polymer nanotubes that resemble the structure of a nerve, with many outthrust filaments poised to gather or send electrical impulses.

How long does it take an electron to tunnel?

The combination of ab-initio numerical experiments and theory shows that optical tunnelling of an electron from an atom can occur instantaneously.

How to flow ultrathin water layers - a liquid flatjet for X-ray spectroscopy

A major advance in solution phase soft-x-ray spectroscopy has been achieved utilizing a new liquid flatjet system, paving the way for novel steady-state and time-resolved experiments.

Registration of chemicals: the Belgian register of nanomaterials

In Belgium a national register for nanomaterials will enter into force on 1st January 2016. This is of significant importance as companies will be required to inform their Committee for Protection and Prevention at Work (CPPW) of the registration of nanomaterials.

Superlattice design realizes elusive multiferroic properties

New design sandwiches a polar metallic oxide between an insulating material.

Electrospray solves longstanding problem in Langmuir-Blodgett assembly

The electrospray spreads water-soluble solvents on water while minimizing mixing.

'Magic' sphere for information transfer

In several years our computers, nanoantennas and other kinds of equipment will operate on the base of photons, rather than electrons. Even now we are practically prepared to accomplish this switch. If it happens, the spheres studied by an international group of Russian, French and Spanish scientists will definitely be able to become one of the elementary components of new photonic devices.

Graphene oxide's secret properties revealed at atomic level

A research team found that graphene oxide's inherent defects give rise to a surprising mechanical property.

Intractable pain may find relief in gold nanorods

Scientists have developed a novel technique using gold nanorods to target pain receptors.

Next phase of Utica nanotechnology initiative launched

Nano Utica initiative now projected to create more than 4,000 jobs in total over next ten years.

X-ray vision reveals photosynthetic structures

Researchers demonstrate a powerful x-ray imaging technique for uncovering the secrets of cell structures and processes.

Smart nanofiber dressings speed healing of chronic wounds

Researchers are developing innovative nanofibre meshes that might draw bacteria out of wounds and speed up the healing process.

A new design for an easily fabricated, flexible and wearable white-light LED

By taking advantage of novel design patterns, researchers have developed a highly flexible white light LED that uses cheap, readily-accessible components.

Thin films offer promise for ferroelectric devices

Researchers demystify the ferroelectric properties observed in hafnium-oxide-based thin films, revealing a potentially useful device material.

Novel nanostructures for efficient long-range energy transport

Scientists report on nanofibers, which enable for the first time a directed energy transport over several micrometers at room temperature. This transport distance can only be explained with quantum coherence effects along the individual nanofibers.

A thin ribbon of flexible electronics can monitor health, infrastructure

A new world of flexible, bendable, even stretchable electronics is emerging from research labs to address a wide range of potentially game-changing uses.

Laser-burned graphene a possible replacement for platinum as catalyst

Chemists who developed a unique form of graphene have found a way to embed metallic nanoparticles that turn the material into a useful catalyst for fuel cells and other applications.

Unfolding the mysteries of DNA origami

Experiments performed by a physicist have provided new insights into how DNA assembles into nanostructures, paving the way for more precise use in technology and medicine.

Lighting up cancer cells with nanocrystals to identify low concentrations of diseased cells

Researchers have developed tiny nanocrystals that could be used in the next generation of medical imaging technologies to light up cancer cells. In a new study, the team of researchers describe how they make these films which are based on the heavy metals lanthanum and europium.

Using nanoscopic pores to investigate protein structure

Researchers have made strides toward a new method of gene sequencing a strand of DNA's bases are read as they are threaded through a nanoscopic hole.

Researchers reveal new, stable 2D materials

Dozens of new two-dimensional materials similar to graphene are now available, thanks to research from University of Manchester scientists.

Quantum dot manufacturing technology may ead to a new generation of LED lighting

Advances in manufacturing technology for quantum dots may soon lead to a new generation of LED lighting that produces a more user-friendly white light, while using less toxic materials and low-cost manufacturing processes that take advantage of simple microwave heating.