Nanotechnology

  Computer chips use billions of tiny switches, called transistors, to process information. The more transistors on a chip, the faster the computer. A material shaped like a one-dimensional DNA helix might further push the limits on a transistor’s size. The material comes from a rare earth element called tellurium. Researchers found that the material,…

By Ken Strandberg The European X-ray Free-electron Laser (European XFEL), recently completed its first experiments that captured images of an antibiotic-disabling enzyme. Scientists use X-rays to bombard molecules and project molecular smatterings on a sensor that reconstructs what the target looks like.  With these high-energy X-rays we now have 3D visualizations of actual molecules, like…

Researchers at Purdue University have created a technology to address the thickness issue for wearable power generation. They developed a woven, thermoelectric, flexible fabric that is potentially thinner than a millimeter. “This wearable power generator is well-suited for body or other heat recovery while also offering great mechanical flexibility and comfort,” said Kazuaki Yazawa, a…

A new type of material for next-generation solar cells eliminates the need to use lead, which has been a major roadblock for this technology. Solar cells, incorporating the mineral perovskite, have been the focus of attention since the material was first shown to work in 2009. Solar cells that are built using this material are…

There may be a new way to efficiently remove micro-contaminants from water. Researchers from ETH Zurich have created a new approach to removing chemical substances from water using multiferroic nanoparticles that induce the decomposition of chemical residues in contaminated water. A variety of chemical substances including cosmetics, medications, contraceptive pills, plant fertilizers and detergents are…

DNA assembled into nanostructures such as tubes and origami-inspired shapes could someday find applications ranging from DNA computers to nanomedicine. However, these intriguing structures don’t persist long in biological environments because of enzymes called nucleases that degrade DNA. Now, researchers have designed DNA nanostructures that can heal themselves in serum. They report their results in…

Baking soda, table salt, and detergent are surprisingly effective ingredients for cooking up carbon nanotubes, researchers at MIT have found. In a study published in the journal Angewandte Chemie, the team reports that sodium-containing compounds found in common household ingredients are able to catalyze the growth of carbon nanotubes, or CNTs, at much lower temperatures…

The researchers of the Nanoscience Center (NSC) at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland, and in the Xiamen University, China, have discovered how copper particles at the nanometre scale operate in modifying a carbon-oxygen bond when ketone molecules turn into alcohol molecules. Modification of the carbon-oxygen and carbon-carbon bonds found in organic molecules is an important…

What if the wood your house was made of could save your electricity bill? In the race to save energy, using a passive cooling method that requires no electricity and is built right into your house could save even chilly areas of the U.S. some cash. Now, researchers at the University of Maryland and the…

New methods of arranging silver nanowires make them more durable, shows a study by KAUST. These nanowires form flexible, transparent conductive layers that can be used for improved solar cells, strain sensors and next-generation mobile phones. Applying nanotechnology in electronic devices requires rigorous testing of individual tiny components to ensure they will stand up to…

Invented approximately 50 years ago, surgical medical meshes have become key elements in the recovery procedures of damaged-tissue surgeries, the most common being hernia repair. When implanted within the tissue of the patient, the flexible and conformable design of these meshes helps hold muscles tight and allows patients to recover much faster than through the…

Plant diseases, though a normal part of nature, can have disastrous effects in agriculture. They reduce food for people and revenues in rural areas. In the worst cases they result in hunger and starvation, as many famines in history show. About 16 percent of all crops are lost to plant diseases each year across the…

Inside all of us are trillions of tiny molecular nanomachines that perform a variety of tasks necessary to keep us alive. In a ground-breaking study, a team led by SFU physics professor David Sivak demonstrated for the first time a strategy for manipulating these machines to maximize efficiency and conserve energy. The breakthrough could have…

Conductive and compressible carbon aerogels are useful in a variety of applications. In recent decades, carbon aerogels have been widely explored by using graphitic carbons and soft carbons, which show advantages in superelasticity. These elastic aerogels usually have delicate microstructures with good fatigue resistance but ultralow strength. Hard carbons demonstrate great advantages in mechanical strength…

Experts call for better regulation of a common additive in foods and medicine, as research reveals it can impact the gut microbiota and could lead to inflammatory bowel diseases or colorectal cancer. University of Sydney research provides new evidence that nanoparticles, which are present in many food items, may have a substantial and harmful influence…

Tiny selenium particles could have a therapeutic effect on ischemic brain strokes by promoting the recovery of brain damage. Pharmacologists, including Alireza Mashaghi from the Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research discovered that selenium nanoparticles inhibit molecular mechanisms that are responsible for the loss of brain cells after a stroke. The results were published in…

Sperm start their sprint to the ovum when they detect changes in the environment through a series of calcium channels arranged like racing stripes on their tails. A team of Yale researchers has identified a key molecule that coordinates the opening and closing of these channels, a process that activates sperm and helps guides them…