Jul 06, 2022 (Nanowerk News) If you switch a bit in the memory of a computer and then switch it back again, you have restored the original state. There are only two states that can be called "0 and 1". However, an amazing effect has now been discovered at TU...
Physicists see electron whirlpools for the first time
Jul 06, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Though they are discrete particles, water molecules flow collectively as liquids, producing streams, waves, whirlpools, and other classic fluid phenomena. Not so with electricity. While an electric current is also a construct of distinct particles — in this case, electrons — the particles are so...
Gecko feet are coated in an ultra-thin layer of lipids that help them stay sticky
Jul 06, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Geckos are famous for having grippy feet that allow them to scale vertical surfaces with ease. They get this seeming superpower from millions of microscopic, hairlike structures on their toes. Now, scientists have zoomed in for an even closer look at those structures, called setae,...
Printing a new chapter in solar energy
Jul 06, 2022 (Nanowerk News) A simple and versatile nanoparticle ink could help next-generation perovskite solar cells to be printed at scale and become the dominant force in commercial photovoltaics. Made from tin oxide, the ink is created with just one key step at relatively low temperature using microwave technology,...
Shapeshifting robotic microswarm acts as a toothbrush, rinse, and dental floss in one
Jul 06, 2022 (Nanowerk News) A shapeshifting robotic microswarm may one day act as a toothbrush, rinse, and dental floss in one. The technology, developed by a multidisciplinary team at the University of Pennsylvania, is poised to offer a new and automated way to perform the mundane but critical daily...
Shedding light on comet Chury’s unexpected chemical complexity
Jul 05, 2022 (Nanowerk News) A team of researchers led by the University of Bern has for the first time identified an unexpected richness of complex organic molecules at a comet. This was achieved thanks to the analysis of data collected during ESA’s Rosetta mission at comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, also known...
Why natural gas is not a bridge technology
Jul 05, 2022 (Nanowerk News) The expansion of natural gas infrastructure jeopardises energy transition, as natural gas is not a bridge technology towards a 100 per cent renewable energy system as defined by the Paris Climate Agreement. This is the result of a study conducted by an interdisciplinary German research...
High harmonics illuminate the movement of atoms and electrons
Jul 05, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Laser light can radically change the properties of solid materials, making them superconducting or magnetic within millionths of a billionth of a second. The intense light causes fundamental, immediate changes in a solid by ‘shaking’ its atomic lattice structure and moving electrons about. But what...
New photocatalytic membrane that can be cleaned using light energy
Jul 05, 2022 (Nanowerk News) An international collaboration lead by Kobe University researchers has successfully developed a nanosheet-laminated photocatalytic membrane that demonstrates both excellent water permeance and photocatalytic activity. The membrane’s photocatalytic properties make it easier to clean as irradiating the membrane with light successfully reduces fouling. They developed this...
From the fight against COVID-19 to cancer immunotherapy and HIV vaccines
Jul 05, 2022 (Nanowerk Spotlight) COVID-19 is a game changer for both nanomedicine and nucleic acid-based vaccines. Just two years ago, there were no licensed messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines; today Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna mRNA vaccines are among the approved vaccines for protection against COVID-19. More than one billion doses of...