How nanotechnology could detect and treat cancer

A growing field called nanotechnology is allowing researchers to manipulate molecules and structures much smaller than a single cell to enhance our ability to see, monitor and destroy cancer cells in the body.

Dynamic DNA polymers can be reversed using biocompatible techniques

DNA-based straight and branched polymers or nanomaterials that can be created and dissolved using biocompatible methods are now possible thanks to the work of biomedical engineers.

Researchers discover melanin could make for great batteries

Researchers have discovered that the chemical structure of melanin on a macromolecular scale exhibits, amongst other shapes, a four-membered ring - in other words, a chemical structure that may be conducive to creating certain kinds of batteries based on natural melanin pigments.

Researchers measure microscale granular crystal dynamics

Granular materials are one of the least understood forms of matter due to the incredibly complex ways that those particles interact. But those complicated physics also offer tantalizing potential to create materials with unique properties - like the ability to absorb impact energy in customized ways.

Peering into tissue stiffness with VIPA-based Brillouin spectroscopy

Researchers have recently developed a new virtually imaged phased array-based Brillouin spectrometer.

Hydrogel promises rapid detection of E. coli in water

The results of the water test can be instantly broadcast using a mobile app already developed by the research team.

New type of graphene-based transistor will increase the clock speed of processors

Researchers have proposed a new design for a tunnel transistor based on bilayer graphene, and using modelling, they proved that this material is an ideal platform for low-voltage electronics.

Researchers nudge closer to physical limits of solar cells

A new solar cell configuration has pushed sunlight-to-electricity conversion efficiency to 34.5%.

Combining nanotextured surfaces with the Leidenfrost effect for extreme water repellency

What do you get if you combine nanotextured 'Cassie' surfaces with the Leidenfrost effect? Highly water-repellent surfaces that show potential for developing future self-cleaning windows, windshields, exterior paints and more.

Plants display nature's optofluidic machinery

Millions of years of evolution have shaped how plants harness the interaction of light and fluid to grow, bend, and keep from drying out.

Nanoparticles in baby formula: should parents be worried?

There's a lot of stuff you'd expect to find in baby formula: proteins, carbs, vitamins, essential minerals. But parents probably wouldn't anticipate finding extremely small, needle-like particles. Yet this is exactly what a team of scientists recently discovered.

Bending hot molecules

New model for controlling hot molecules reactions, which are relevant to fusion, space exploration and planetary science.

Playing with the thermostat in two dimensions: cooling and heating of graphene

Researchers have directly detected the Peltier effect in graphene. They showed that the effect can be switched from heating to cooling by tuning the type and density of the charge carriers inside the material.

Theorists smooth the way to modeling quantum friction

Theoretical chemists have pioneered a strategy for modeling quantum friction, or how a particle's environment drags on it, a vexing problem in quantum mechanics since the birth of the field.

Cartography of the spin-orbit interaction

Physicists used a scanning tunneling microscope to map the interaction of the electronic spin with its environment with nanometer precision.