Dec 22, 2021 (Nanowerk News) DNAzymes – a word made up of DNA and enzyme – are catalytically active DNA sequences. They comprise a catalytic core comprising around 15 nucleic acids flanked by short binding arms on the right- and left-hand sides, each with around ten nucleic acids. While the...
Tracking down the forces that shaped our Solar System’s evolution
Dec 22, 2021 (Nanowerk News) Meteorites are remnants of the building blocks that formed Earth and the other planets orbiting our Sun. Recent analysis of their isotopic makeup led by Carnegie’s Nicole Nie and published in Science Advances ("Imprint of chondrule formation on the K and Rb isotopic compositions of...
Billions of starless planets haunt dark cloud cradles
Dec 22, 2021 (Nanowerk News) In Lovecraftian horror, the Universe is filled with “dark planets” ungraced by the light of a host star. New research shows that reality might be even scarier. An international team composed of French, Japanese, and Spanish astronomers has found about 100 planets floating freely in...
3D-bioprinted tissues can now be stored in the freezer until needed
Dec 22, 2021 (Nanowerk News) A major obstacle to widespread study and clinical use of 3D tissues is their short shelf-life, which may be anywhere from a just few hours to a few days. As in the case of an organ transplant, a bioprinted tissue must be transported rapidly to...
World’s smallest microelectronic catheter for minimally invasive surgery of the future
Dec 22, 2021 (Nanowerk News) A research team from Chemnitz University of Technology, IFW Dresden and Max Planck Institute CBG presents a completely new type of biomedical tool with a tiny biocompatible, microelectronic micro-catheter equipped with sensor and actuator functions (Science Advances, "Electronically integrated microcatheters based on self-assembling polymer films")....
Miniaturization of optical diffusers based on silicon nanoparticles
Dec 22, 2021 (Nanowerk News) Miniaturization of optical components is a challenge in photonics. Researchers of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and Friedrich Schiller University of Jena have now succeeded in developing a diffuser, a disk that scatters light, based on silicon nanoparticles. It can be used to specifically control...
From aptamer-graphene interaction understanding to biosensor performance improvements
Dec 22, 2021 (Nanowerk Spotlight) The use of graphene-based field-effect transistors in the past decade has been shown as one of the most powerful biosensing units for the detection of numerous biological and biochemical analytes. Distinctly specific electrical properties of graphene in the domain of field-effect transistors, along with high...
Machine learning models quantum devices
Dec 22, 2021 (Nanowerk News) Technologies that take advantage of novel quantum mechanical behaviors are likely to become commonplace in the near future. These may include devices that use quantum information as input and output data, which require careful verification due to inherent uncertainties. The verification is more challenging if...
Engineers test an idea for a new hovering rover
Dec 21, 2021 (Nanowerk News) Aerospace engineers at MIT are testing a new concept for a hovering rover that levitates by harnessing the moon’s natural charge. Because they lack an atmosphere, the moon and other airless bodies such as asteroids can build up an electric field through direct exposure to...
Biosensors using carbon nanotube field-effect transistors show great promise
Dec 21, 2021 (Nanowerk News) Demand for sensitive and selective electronic biosensors -- analytical devices that monitor a target of interest in real time -- is growing for a wide range of applications. They are ideal for health care within clinical settings, drug discovery, food safety and quality control, and...