Stress test reveals graphene won't crack under pressure

Researchers have discovered that the carbon-based material can withstand more than one billion cycles of high stress before breaking.

Cheap nanoparticles stimulate immune response to cancer in the lab

Researchers have developed nanoparticles that, in the lab, can activate immune responses to cancer cells. If they are shown to work as well in the body as they do in the lab, the nanoparticles might provide an effective and more affordable way to fight cancer.

Microswimmers swim faster over slippery surfaces

Tiny self-propelling spheres, measuring only micrometers, move faster over a hydrophobic silicone surface than they do over hydrophilic glass.

Unexpected behaviour of the material: From 2D crystal to 1D wire

No volume, not even a surface: a one-dimensional material is like a wire and has properties that are completely different to its 3D counterpart. Physicists have now discovered a system that, at warmer temperatures, forms self-organized wires consisting of only one row of individual atoms.

Theoretical study points to jade-like materials as quantum spin liquids

This exotic liquid-like state of matter in which magnetism never freezes could give rise to high-temperature superconductivity and form the basis for quantum computing.

Optical vacuum cleaner can manipulate nanoparticles

Researchers have developed the concept for constructing an 'optical vacuum cleaner'. Due to its optical properties, it can trap nanoparticles from the environment.

Crab-shell and seaweed compounds spin into yarns for sustainable and functional materials

Biobased fibres are made from two renewable marine resources and with promise in advanced applications, in wovens and medical materials, among others. The threads draw strength from the crab chitin component and flexibility from seaweed alginate.