Two-dimensional materials made of Group 14 elements, graphene’s cousins, have attracted enormous interest in recent years because of their unique potential as useful topological insulators. In particular, the up-to-now purely theoretical possibility of a lead-based 2-D honeycomb material, called plumbene, has generated much attention because it has the largest spin-orbit interaction, due to lead’s orbital…
Germanene Heralds the Future of Electronics
Researchers have found an easier, scalable way to produce high-quality 2D sheets of germanium, possibly paving the way to industrial-scale production and the advent of the next generation of electronics. In contrast to graphene (carbon), which is the best-known 2D material, flat, pure sheets of silicon (silicene), tin (stanene) and germanium (germanene) — “post-graphene” materials…
Wave-Particle Interactions Allow Collision-Free Energy Transfer in Space Plasma
The Earth’s magnetosphere contains plasma, an ionized gas composed of positive ions and negative electrons. The motion of these charged plasma particles is controlled by electromagnetic fields. The energy transfer processes that occur in this collisionless space plasma are believed to be based on wave-particle interactions such as particle acceleration by plasma waves and spontaneous…
High-Sugar Feeding Only at Active Times of Day Reduces Adverse Effects in Rats
A sedentary lifestyle combined with a diet dominated by processed foods has widely resulted in a range of conditions including diabetes, obesity, and high blood pressure, which are known collectively as metabolic syndrome. Although many insights into the causes of metabolic syndrome have been made, much remains to be understood about the complex interplay among…
A Near-Infrared Fluorescent Dye For Long Term Bioimaging
A group of chemists at the Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules (ITbM), Nagoya University, has developed a new near infrared (NIR) emitting photostable fluorescent dye PREX 710 (photo-resistant xanthene dye which can be excited at 710 nanometers) to have uses ranging from long term single molecule imaging to in vivo deep imaging, according to a study…
Superconductivity in an Alloy With Quasicrystal Structure
Extraordinary things happen at low temperatures. One of the best examples is surely superconductivity. This phenomenon, wherein the electrical resistance of a solid drops to zero below a critical temperature, has been known for a century, and now has applications in science and industry. Physics and chemistry students can even make their own levitating magnets…
Accidental Discovery Leads to Groundbreaking Graphene Technique
A group of scientists at Nagoya University have developed a simple and powerful method to construct perfectly unidirectional molecular assembly structures on graphene, according to a study reported in the journal Scientific Reports. Discovered accidentally during other research, the method relies on a common laboratory tool, atomic force microscopy (AFM), to control molecular alignment. Graphene,…
Flexible Warped Nanographene Used for Bioimaging
An international team of scientists has developed a water-soluble “warped nanographene,” a flexible molecule that is biocompatible and shows promise for fluorescent cell imaging. The new nanographene molecule also induces cell death when exposed to blue laser light. Further investigation is required to determine how nanocarbons could be used for a range of biological applications,…
Nanowire Device Detects Cancer via Urine Test
Cells communicate with each other through a number of different mechanisms. Some of these mechanisms are well-known: in animals, for example, predatory threats can drive the release of norepinephrine, a hormone that travels through the bloodstream and triggers heart and muscle cells to initiate a “fight-or-flight” response. A far less familiar mode of cellular transport…
Shining Rings: A New Material Emits White Light When Exposed to Electricity
Stimuli-responsive materials alter their own properties in response to external stimuli, such as photo-irradiation, heat, pressure and electricity. This feature can be controlled for a wide range of uses, such as in optical discs, computer memories and displays, as well as artificial muscles and drug delivery systems. Researchers have been working to develop new stimuli-responsive…
Bird Feathers Inspire Researchers to Produce Vibrant New Colors
A Nagoya University-led research team mimics the rich color of bird plumage and demonstrates new ways to control how light interacts with materials. Bright colors in the natural world often result from tiny structures in feathers or wings that change the way light behaves when it’s reflected. So-called “structural color” is responsible for the vivid…