Jul 26, 2022 (Nanowerk News) A study of 29 European lakes has found that some naturally-occurring lake bacteria grow faster and more efficiently on the remains of plastic bags than on natural matter like leaves and twigs. The bacteria break down the carbon compounds in plastic to use as food...
Evolutionary model predicts partitioning of molecules within cells
Jul 26, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization (MPI-DS) in Göttingen, Germany, and Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands, have developed a new theoretical method to study mixtures consisting of many different molecules. They analyzed how the molecules interact to reliably form different...
CRISPR therapeutics can damage the genome
Jul 25, 2022 (Nanowerk News) A new study from Tel Aviv University (TAU) identifies risks in the use of CRISPR therapeutics – an innovative, Nobel-prize-winning method that involves cleaving and editing DNA, already employed for the treatment of conditions like cancer, liver and intestinal diseases, and genetic syndromes. Investigating the...
Tetrahedrons assemble! Three-sided pyramids form 2D structures
Jul 25, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Tetrahedron-shaped nanoparticles are interesting enough by themselves, but under the right circumstances, Rice University scientists have discovered they do something remarkable. While doing a routine check on a batch of tiny gold tetrahedrons, Rice chemist Matthew Jones and graduate student Zhihua Cheng found their microscopic...
Neuromorphic computing with optically driven nonlinear fluid dynamics
Jul 25, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Sunlight sparkling on water evokes the rich phenomena of liquid–light interaction, spanning spatial and temporal scales. While the dynamics of liquids have fascinated researchers for decades, the rise of neuromorphic computing has sparked significant efforts to develop new, unconventional computational schemes based on recurrent neural...
New research unveils first visualization of friction at the atomic level
Jul 25, 2022 (Nanowerk News) For machines with mechanical elements, friction is an unavoidable enemy. It is a major source of service failure and can reduce the lifespan of any machinery, from bicycles and cars to airplanes and assembly lines. New research led by the University of Pittsburgh unveils the...
Bioinspired protein creates stretchable 2D layered materials
Jul 25, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Nature creates layered materials like bone and mother-of-pearl that become less sensitive to defects as they grow. Now researchers have created, using biomimetic proteins patterned on squid ring teeth, composite layered 2D materials that are resistant to breaking and extremely stretchable. "Researchers rarely reported this...
Researchers explre the structure of the smallest semiconductor with only 27 atoms
Jul 25, 2022 (Nanowerk News) A semiconductor is a material whose conductivity lies somewhere between that of a conductor and an insulator. This property allows semiconductors to serve as the base material for modern electronics and transistors. It is no understatement that the technological progress in the latter part of...
Nanoparticle catalyst destroys ‘forever chemicals’ with sunlight
Jul 25, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Rice University chemical engineers have improved their design for a light-powered catalyst that rapidly breaks down PFOA, one of the world’s most problematic “forever chemical” pollutants. llustration showing how a composite material containing sheets of boron nitride (lattice of blue and silver balls) and nanoparticles...
Fundamentals underpinning future atomic and close-to-atomic scale manufacturing
Jul 25, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Atomic and close-to-atomic scale manufacturing (ACSM) represents the processing techniques for high-end products, which requires not only the atomic-level manufacturing precision and functional feature size, but also the material removal, migration, or addition at the atomic or close-to-atomic scale. Benefiting from the special quantum, electromagnetic,...