'High-speed 'electron camera' films atomic nuclei in vibrating molecules

An ultrafast 'electron camera' has made the first direct snapshots of atomic nuclei in molecules that are vibrating within millionths of a billionth of a second after being hit by a laser pulse.

Researchers find transition point in semiconductor nanomaterials

Researchers have demonstrated that electronic interactions play a significant role in the dimensional crossover of semiconductor nanomaterials. The show that a critical length scale marks the transition between a zero-dimensional, quantum dot and a one-dimensional nanowire.

Invisibility cloak with photonic crystals

Almost as elusive as unicorns, finding practical materials for invisibility cloaking is challenging. Researchers have new ideas how to solve that.

Synthetic chemistry in a very small space

Thanks to a new process, it is now possible to systematically test a large number of chemical reactions in a very small space and within a short time. It enables freely selectable molecules embedded in solid materials to react with each other in a nanometer-sized space.

Magnetism under the magnifying glass

Being able to determine magnetic properties of materials with sub-nanometer precision would greatly simplify development of magnetic nano-structures for future spintronic devices. In a new article, physicists make a big step towards this goal.

Lowering the cost and environmental footprint of white LEDs with MOFs and graphene

To help reduce the environmental footprint and cost of these lights, researchers have developed the first white LED with a hybrid, metal-organic framework material.

Subatomic microscopy key to building new classes of materials

Researchers are pushing the limits of electron microscopy into the tens of picometer scale, a fraction of the size of a hydrogen atom. The ability to see at this subatomic level is crucial in designing new materials with unprecedented properties, such as materials that transition from metals to semiconductors or that exhibit superconductivity.

Researchers peel back another layer of chemistry with 'tender' X-rays

Scientists can now directly probe a previously hard-to-see layer of chemistry thanks to a unique X-ray toolkit. The X-ray tools and techniques could be extended, researchers say, to provide new insight about battery performance and corrosion, a wide range of chemical reactions, and even biological and environmental processes that rely on similar chemistry.

Shape of 'molecular graphene' determines electronic properties

Infrared spectroscopic studies reveal electronic differences in polycyclic hydrocarbons with zigzag and armchair edge structures.

Development of a Novel Mass analysis technique that can be performed even with an ordinary business card

A research team developed a new mass analysis technique that operates under a completely different principle from that of conventional mass analysis techniques.

Plastic crystals could improve fabrication of memory devices

A novel 'plastic crystal' has switching properties suitable for memory-related applications.

National Science Foundation awards $763K for community college nanotechnology project

The NSF grant will establish the Northwest Vista College program and San Antonio as a hub for companies needing employees skilled in micro-nano-bio technologies.

Theorists solve a long-standing fundamental problem

When it comes to trying to model the properties and behavior of systems of atoms, scientists use two fundamentally different pictures of reality, one of which is called 'statistical' and the other 'dynamical'. The two approaches have at times been at odds, but scientists announced a way to reconcile the two pictures.

Diamonds and quantum information processing on the nanoscale

Researchers have successfully demonstrated charge transport between Nitrogen-Vacancy color centers in diamond. The team developed a novel multi-color scanning microscopy technique to visualize the charge transport.

Imploding bubbles improve the growth of single-crystalline perovskite solar cell thin films

Researchers have now shown how imploding bubbles in a solution can grow single crystals of the preferred orientation for manufacturing thin films.

Building blocks for methane gas storage

Tweaking the structure of metal-organic frameworks could transform the capacity to use methane as a fuel.

Silver nanoparticles' protein 'corona' affects their toxicity

Scientists distinguished how protein 'corona' of silver nanoparticles affects their cellular toxicity.

New optical material offers unprecedented control of light and thermal radiation

Engineers discover that samarium nickelate shows promise for active photonic devices - SmNiO3 could potentially transform optoelectronic technologies, including smart windows, infrared camouflage, and optical communications.

Making mechanically strong nanotubes with light

Scientists have developed a simple and effective method for the formation of robust covalent ONTs from simple molecules. This method is expected to be useful in generating a range of nanotube-based materials with desirable properties.

Colors from darkness: Researchers develop alternative approach to quantum computing

Microwaves created at near absolute zero temperature provide uniquely correlated and controllable states.

Nanotechnology-based delivery system may help treat rare genetic disorder

Researchers have discovered a type of drug delivery system that may offer new hope for patients with a rare, ultimately fatal genetic disorder - and make what might become a terrible choice a little easier.

DNA-based nanocontainers for drug delivery

Scientists have engineered a novel nanoscale drug delivery vehicle which can be tuned to release a range of cargos. The drug delivery system consists of self-assembled DNA nanopores embedded in nanometre-sized 'bubbles' known as polymersomes.

Body heat as a power source

Wearable integrated thermocells based on gel electrolytes use body heat.

Super cement's secret

Electron anions impart unconventional properties in a unique cement semiconductor for potentials uses in industrial catalysts and flat panel displays.

Nanometer-thin layers of water can become ice-like at room temperature

New research shows that a nanometer-thin layer of water between two charged surfaces exhibits ice-like tendencies that allow it to withstand pressures of hundreds of atmospheres. The discovery could lead to better ways to minimize friction in a variety of settings.

Continuous roll-process technology for transferring and packaging flexible LSI

Researchers have developed a continuous roll-processing technology that transfers and packages flexible large-scale integrated circuits (LSI), the key element in constructing the computer's brain such as CPU, on plastics to realize flexible electronics.

A new window to understanding the brain

Syringe-injectable mesh electronics offer researchers the chance to study processes that take place over long time.

Graphene key to growing two-dimensional semiconductor with extraordinary properties

The first-ever growth of two-dimensional gallium nitride using graphene encapsulation could lead to applications in deep ultraviolet lasers, next-generation electronics and sensors.

A device to control çolor' of electrons in graphene provides path to future electronics

A device made of bilayer graphene, an atomically thin hexagonal arrangement of carbon atoms, provides experimental proof of the ability to control the momentum of electrons and offers a path to electronics that could require less energy and give off less heat than standard CMOS transistors.

Meteorite impact on a nano scale

Hitting a surface with high-energy, heavy ions has quite similar effects like meteor impacts - only on a much smaller scale.

How researchers capture nanoparticles in water bodies

For a number of years now, an increasing number of synthetic nanoparticles have been manufactured and incorporated into various products, such as cosmetics. For the first time, a research project provides reliable findings on their presence in water bodies.

New Center to assess safety of engineered nanomaterials

Researchers at the new Harvard-NIEHS Nanosafety Research Center at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health are working to understand the unique properties of ENMs - both beneficial and harmful - and to ultimately establish safety standards for the field.

Researchers develop method to speed up detection of infectious diseases, cancer

Researchers have found a way to speed and simplify the detection of proteins in blood and plasma opening up the potential for diagnosing the early presence of infectious diseases or cancer during a doctor?s office visit. The new test takes about 10 minutes as opposed to two to four hours for current state-of-the-art tests.

Making high quality vertical nanowires with full control over their size, density and distribution

Scientists have demonstrated a novel method of making high quality vertical nanowires with full control over their size, density and distribution over a semi-conducting substrate.

Fast switching all-solid-state wavelength-dependent bipolar photodetector

Researchers describe the first all solid-state wavelength-dependent bipolar photodetectors with fast response times and tunable switching wavelengths.

Important advance made with new approach to 'control' cancer, not eliminate it

Researchers have created a new drug delivery system that could improve the effectiveness of an emerging concept in cancer treatment - to dramatically slow and control tumors on a long-term, sustained basis, not necessarily aiming for their complete elimination.

Cell-compatible OLEDs for use with patients

Cytocompatibility studies of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) have been carried out on cell cultures for the first time to test how well OLEDs are tolerated by cells.

Electronic circuits printed at 1 micron resolution

Researchers have developed a printing technique for forming electronic circuits and thin-film transistors (TFTs) with line width and line spacing both being 1 micron.

Electrons at the speed limit

Scientists have investigated how fast electrons can ultimately be controlled with electric fields. Their insights are of importance for the petahertz electronics of the future.

Symmetry crucial for building key biomaterial collagen in the lab

Researchers describe what may be the key to growing functional, natural collagen fibers outside of the body: symmetry.

Forces of nature: Interview with microscopy innovators Gerd Binnig and Christoph Gerber

The inventors of one of the most versatile tools in modern science - the atomic force microscope, or AFM - tell their story in an interview published online this week.

A nanoscale wireless communication system via plasmonic antennas

Greater control affords 'in-plane' transmission of waves at or near visible light.

Physicists discovered new peculiarities of a material with a giant magnetocaloric effect

Scientists showed that the smallest structural change in the iron-rhodium alloys may result in a significant change in its magnetocaloric properties.

Designing ultrasound protein tools with molecular engineering

Researchers engineered protein-shelled nanostructures called gas vesicles - which reflect sound waves - to exhibit new properties useful for ultrasound technologies. In the future, these gas vesicles could be administered to a patient to visualize tissues of interest.

A promising route to the scalable production of highly crystalline graphene films

Researchers discovered a procedure to restore defective graphene oxide structures that cause the material to display low carrier mobility.

Defects, electrons, and a long-standing controversy

Scientists explain diverse results around a material that is both insulator and conductor and offer chemical roadmap to harness it.

Artificial retinas: promising leads towards clearer vision

Scientists were able to improve the properties of the interface between the prosthesis and retina, with the help of specialists in interface physics.

Graphene under pressure

Small balloons made from one-atom-thick material graphene can withstand enormous pressures, much higher than those at the bottom of the deepest ocean, scientists report.

Nanovesicles in predictable shapes

Beads, disks, bowls and rods: scientists have demonstrated the first methodological approach to control the shapes of nanovesicles. This opens doors for the use of nanovesicles in biomedical applications, such as drug delivery in the body.

Bio-inspired tire design: Where the rubber meets the road (w/video)

Researchers develop materials with surface architectures - inspired by surfaces on feet of grasshoppers or frogs - that could improve the safety and reliability of tires.

New electrical energy storage nanomaterial shows its power

A powerful new material could one day speed up the charging process of electric cars and help increase their driving range.

Interface engineering for stable perovskite solar cells

Researchers show that interface engineering with layered materials is important for boosting solar cell performance.

Nanorobotic agents designed to travel in the human body to treat cancer (w/video)

The outcome of 15 years of research, this system enables microscopic nanorobotic agents to be guided through the vascular systems of living bodies, delivering drugs to targeted areas.

Overcoming multidrug-resistant cancer with smart nanoparticles

Scientists engineer multicomponent nanoparticles to deliver drugs, block cell's defense systems.

Nanovaccine could enhance cancer immunotherapy, reduce side effects

The nanovaccine helps to efficiently deliver a unique DNA sequence to immune cells - a sequence derived from bacterial DNA and used to trigger an immune reaction.