U.S. Dept. of Agriculture awards $3.8 million in grants for nanotechnology research

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) today announced more than $3.8 million in funding to support grants focused on using nanotechnology to find solutions to societal challenges such as food security, nutrition, food safety, and environmental protection.

Artificial spin ice: A new playground to better understand magnetism

Experiments using novel magnetic nanostructures confirm theoretically predicted behavior - bolstering their utility as a tool for understanding complex magnetic materials.

Two-dimensional semiconductor comes clean

Scientists demonstrated that they could dramatically improve the performance of graphene by encapsulating it in molybdenum disulfide, an insulating material with a similar layered structure.

Micromotors for energy generation

Self-propelled microparticles boost hydrogen release from liquid storage media.

Scientists join forces to reveal the mass and shape of single molecules

A microscopic tool, more than 1000 times thinner than the width of a single human hair, uses vibrations to simultaneously reveal the mass and the shape of a single molecule - a feat which has not been possible until now.

Self-assembling biomaterial forms nanostructure templates for human tissue formation

This article describes investigations towards the development of innovative biomaterials able to direct the formation of complex tissues as well as their release from the biomaterial template with enormous implications in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.

New ceramic material improves properties of hydroxyapatite nanoparticles

Researchers propose a simple and cheap method to produce hydroxyapatite nanoparticles and improve its mechanical properties.

Weighing and imaging molecules one at a time

Building on their creation of the first-ever mechanical device that can measure the mass of individual molecules, one at a time, a team of scientists has created nanodevices that can also reveal their shape. Such information is crucial when trying to identify large protein molecules or complex assemblies of protein molecules.

Graphene-based technique creates the smallest gaps in nanostructures

A new procedure will enable researchers to fabricate smaller, faster, and more powerful nanoscale devices - and do so with molecular control and precision.

Researchers model new atomic structures of gold nanoparticle

They may deal in gold, atomic staples and electron volts rather than cement, support beams and kilowatt-hours, but chemists have drafted new nanoscale blueprints for low-energy structures capable of housing pharmaceuticals and oxygen atoms.

Study explores the interaction of carbon nanotubes and the blood-brain barrier

The study investigates the ability of amino-functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes to cross the Blood-Brain Barrier (BBB) by two ways: in vitro using a co-culture BBB model comprising primary porcine brain endothelial cells and primary rat astrocytes and, in vivo, following a systemic administration of radiolabelled f-MWNTs.