Feb 21, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Brown dwarfs are strange celestial bodies, occupying a kind of intermediate position between stars and planets. Astrophysicists sometimes call them "failed stars" because they have insufficient mass to burn hydrogen in their cores and shine like stars. It is continually debated if the formation of...
Bacteria upcycle carbon waste into valuable chemicals
Feb 21, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Bacteria are known for breaking down lactose to make yogurt and sugar to make beer. Now researchers led by Northwestern University and LanzaTech have harnessed bacteria to break down waste carbon dioxide (CO2) to make valuable industrial chemicals. In a new pilot study, the researchers...
A ‘hot Jupiter’s’ dark side is revealed in detail for first time
Feb 21, 2022 (Nanowerk News) MIT astronomers have obtained the clearest view yet of the perpetual dark side of an exoplanet that is “tidally locked” to its star. Their observations, combined with measurements of the planet’s permanent day side, provide the first detailed view of an exoplanet’s global atmosphere. “We’re...
Molecule snapshot by explosion
Feb 21, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Exploding a photo subject in order to take its picture? An international research team at the European XFEL, the world's largest X-ray laser, applied this “extreme” method to take pictures of complex molecules. The scientists used the ultra-bright X-ray flashes generated by the facility to...
An unexpected discovery could improve the crystallinity of coordination nanosheets
Feb 21, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Coordination nanosheets are a new and emerging class of two-dimensional materials, rapidly gaining importance in the field of nanomaterials. They consist of metal ions and organic ligand molecules, linked to each other to form one framework, via coordination bonds. These nanosheets act as building blocks,...
How sound waves could help regrow bones
Feb 21, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Researchers have used sound waves to turn stem cells into bone cells, in a tissue engineering advance that could one day help patients regrow bone lost to cancer or degenerative disease. The innovative stem cell treatment from researchers at RMIT University offers a smart way...
What role does green electricity play in charging electric cars?
Feb 21, 2022 (Nanowerk News) A new study (PDF) by Fraunhofer ISI addresses the question of how widespread green electricity contracts are among users of electric vehicles in Germany. The study made a detailed examination of the share of green electricity contracts for charging at home, at work, and at...
Thin-film microfluidics device finds novel way to make oil and water attract
Feb 21, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Imagine making some liquids mix that do not mix, then unmixing them. In one of the grand challenges of science, a Flinders University device which previously ‘unboiled’ egg protein is now unravelling the mystery of incompatible fluids; a development that could enhance many future products,...
Meet ELI – a nanotechnology neuroprosthetic that may one day integrate with neurons
Feb 21, 2022 (Nanowerk Spotlight) For over a generation several types of medical neuroprosthetics have been developed, which have improved the lives of thousands of individuals. For instance, cochlear implants have restored functional hearing in individuals with severe hearing impairment. Further advances in motor neuroprosthetics are attempting to restore motor...