Jun 24, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Researchers at the University of Antwerp, Belgium, the CIC biomaGUNE laboratory in San Sebastián, Spain and Thermo Fisher Scientific recently investigated the thermal stability of gold nanoparticles covered by a platinum shell (ACS Nano, "Thermal Activation of Gold Atom Diffusion in [email protected] Nanorods"). Nanoparticles composed...
Wearable chemical sensor is as good as gold
Jun 24, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Researchers created a special ultrathin sensor, spun from gold, that can be attached directly to the skin without irritation or discomfort (Advanced Optical Materials, "Highly scalable, wearable surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy"). The sensor can measure different biomarkers or substances to perform on-body chemical analysis. It works...
Cities of the future may be built with algae-grown limestone
Jun 24, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Global cement production accounts for 7% of annual greenhouse gas emissions in large part through the burning of quarried limestone. Now, a CU Boulder-led research team has figured out a way to make cement production carbon neutral—and even carbon negative—by pulling carbon dioxide out of...
Lipid nanoparticles carry gene-editing cancer drugs past tumor defenses
Jun 23, 2022 (Nanowerk News) As they grow, solid tumors surround themselves with a thick, hard-to-penetrate wall of molecular defenses. Getting drugs past that barricade is notoriously difficult. Now, scientists at UT Southwestern have developed nanoparticles that can break down the physical barriers around tumors to reach cancer cells. Once...
Artificial photosynthesis can produce food without sunshine
Jun 23, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Photosynthesis has evolved in plants for millions of years to turn water, carbon dioxide, and the energy from sunlight into plant biomass and the foods we eat. This process, however, is very inefficient, with only about 1% of the energy found in sunlight ending up...
Are babies the key to the next generation of artificial intelligence?
Jun 23, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Babies can help unlock the next generation of artificial intelligence (AI), according to Trinity neuroscientists and colleagues who have just published new guiding principles for improving artificial intelligence (AI). The research, published in the journal Nature Machine Intelligence ("Lessons from infant learning for unsupervised machine...
Quantum sensor can detect electromagnetic signals of any frequency
Jun 23, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Quantum sensors, which detect the most minute variations in magnetic or electrical fields, have enabled precision measurements in materials science and fundamental physics. But these sensors have only been capable of detecting a few specific frequencies of these fields, limiting their usefulness. Now, researchers at...
Engineers devise a recipe for improving any autonomous robotic system (w/video)
Jun 23, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Autonomous robots have come a long way since the fastidious Roomba. In recent years, artificially intelligent systems have been deployed in self-driving cars, last-mile food delivery, restaurant service, patient screening, hospital cleaning, meal prep, building security, and warehouse packing. Each of these robotic systems is...
Boron nitride nanotubes used to be hard to process. Not anymore
Jun 23, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Boron nitride nanotubes used to be hard to process, according to Rice University researchers. Not anymore. A Rice team led by professors Matteo Pasquali and Angel Martí has simplified handling of the highly valuable nanotubes to make them more suitable for large-scale applications, including aerospace,...
Ultra-thin film creates vivid 3D images with large field of view
Jun 23, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Researchers have developed a new ultra-thin film that can create detailed 3D images viewable under normal illumination without any special reading devices. The images appear to float on top of the film and exhibit smooth parallax, which means they can be clearly viewed from all...