Graphene's promise as a material for new kinds of electronic devices, among other uses, has led researchers around the world to study the material in search of new applications. But one of the biggest limitations to wider use of the strong, lightweight, highly conductive material has been the hurdle of fabrication on an industrial scale. ...
Scientists show that some diamonds are not forever. Through the creation of nanodiamonds in treated coal scientists also show that some microscopic diamonds only last seconds before fading back into less-structured forms of carbon under the impact of an electron beam. ...
A new method allows calcified and constricted blood vessels to be visualized with micrometer precision, and can be used to design containers for targeted drug delivery. Within the project, materials scientists combined cutting-edge-imaging techniques to visualize and quantify the constrictions caused by atherosclerosis. ...
Researchers have introduced a platform technology based on optical antennas for trapping and controlling light with the one-atom-thick material graphene. The experiments show that the dramatically squeezed graphene-guided light can be focused and bent, following the fundamental principles of conventional optics. The work opens new opportunities for smaller and faster photonic devices and circuits....
Researchers have found that a particular species of quantum dots that weren't commonly thought to blink, do. So what? Well, although the blinks are very short -- nanoseconds to milliseconds -- even brief fluctuations like these could signal trouble for using quantum dots in a quantum computer or between nodes of a future quantum Internet. ...
Increasing the effectiveness of certain contrast agents is often used for imaging blood vessels and internal bleeding by associating them with nanoparticles, biomedical researchers report. The contrast agent being used is packaged inside or bonded to the surface of microscopic particles, which can be designed to target certain regions of the body or prolong the agent's activity. ...
A new type of supercapacitor that can hold a charge when it takes a lickin’ has been developed. It is the first “multi-functional” energy storage device that can operate while subject to realistic static and dynamic loads – advancing the day when everything from cell phones to electric vehicles will no longer need separate batteries. ...
Researchers have developed a novel nanometer scale ruthenium oxide anchored nanocarbon graphene foam architecture that improves the performance of supercapacitors, a development that could mean faster acceleration in electric vehicles and longer battery life in portable electronics. ...
Photocatalysts are most often semiconductors, with metals (platinum, gold) added to promote their activity. However, these metals (or 'promoters') are expensive; hence the quest for more economical alternatives. Now a team of chemists has come up with a model to explain this promoting effect that could shift the focus in the search for substitutes of the metals, and help identify better promoters for...
The successful development of a 'lab-on-a-chip' platform has been announced, capable of detecting protein cancer markers in the blood using the very latest advances in plasmonics, nano-fabrication, microfluids and surface chemistry. The device is able to detect very low concentrations of protein cancer markers in blood, enabling diagnoses of the disease in its earliest stages. ...
Using a material found in Silly Putty and surgical tubing, a group of researchers have developed a new way to make lithium-ion batteries that will last three times longer between charges compared to the current industry standard. ...
Researchers have taken a step toward practical applications for 'hyperbolic metamaterials,' ultra-thin crystalline films that could bring optical advances including powerful microscopes, quantum computers and high-performance solar cells. ...
Combining atoms of semiconductor materials into nanowires and structures on top of silicon surfaces shows promise for a new generation of fast, robust electronic and photonic devices. Scientists have recently demonstrated three-dimensional nanowire transistors using this approach that open exciting opportunities for integrating other semiconductors, such as gallium nitride, on silicon substrates. ...
Researchers have created an artificial chemical sensor based on one of the human body's most important receptors, one that is critical in the action of painkillers and anesthetics. In these devices, the receptors' activation produces an electrical response rather than a biochemical one, allowing that response to be read out by a computer. ...
Researchers have developed a ground-breaking filter technology that guards against the finest pollutants in the air. Haze is usually composed of pollutants in the form of tiny suspended particles or fine mists/droplets emitted from vehicles, coal-burning power plants and factories. Continued exposure increases the risk of developing respiratory problems, heart diseases and lung cancer. Can we avoid...
RNA carried by new nanoparticles can silence genes in many organs, and could be deployed to treat cancer, researchers report. Up to this point, researchers have gotten the best results with RNAi targeted to diseases of the liver, in part because it is a natural destination for nanoparticles. But now, a team reports achieving the most potent RNAi gene silencing to date in nonliver tissues. ...
Researchers have developed nanostructures that assist in the process of decontaminating water. The nanostructures are coated in titanium oxide to which nitrogen has been added. This allows sunlight, rather than ultraviolet radiation, to trigger the process involving the chemical reaction and destruction of contaminants. ...
Biomedical engineering researchers have developed an anti-cancer drug delivery method that essentially smuggles the drug into a cancer cell before triggering its release. The method can be likened to keeping a cancer-killing bomb and its detonator separate until they are inside a cancer cell, where they then combine to destroy the cell. ...
Newly detected ‘energy-clustering’ structures inside rare-earth nanoparticles generate intense violet light, which is ideal for studying photon-induced transformations. Labeling biomolecules with light-emitting nanoparticles is a powerful technique for observing cell movement and signaling under realistic, in vivo conditions. The small size of these probes, however, often limits their optical capabilities....
Over the past two decades or so, there has been increasing interest and development in measuring slow dynamics in disordered systems at the nanoscale, brought about in part from a demand for advancements in the food and consumer products industries. ...