Aug 02, 2022 (Nanowerk News) For the first time, scientists from CNRS, Institut Curie and Sorbonne Université have been able to act physically on chromosomes in living cells. By subjecting the chromosomes to different forces using magnets, they discovered that chromosomes are in fact very fluid – almost liquid –...
Researchers create biosensor by turning spider silk into optical fiber
Aug 02, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Researchers have harnessed the light-guiding properties of spider silk to develop a sensor that can detect and measure small changes in the refractive index of a biological solution, including glucose and other types of sugar solutions. The new light-based sensor might one day be useful...
The bacteria powering a truly green revolution in personal electronics
Aug 02, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst recently announced that they have figured out how to engineer a biofilm that harvests the energy in evaporation and converts it to electricity. This biofilm, which was announced in Nature Communications ("Microbial biofilms for electricity generation from water...
Researchers propose an affordable and sustainable alternative to lithium-ion batteries
Aug 02, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Concerns regarding scarcity, high prices, and safety regarding the long-term use of lithium-ion batteries has prompted a team of researchers from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute to propose a greener, more efficient, and less expensive energy storage alternative. In research published recently in Proceedings of the National...
Using artificial intelligence to control digital manufacturing
Aug 02, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Scientists and engineers are constantly developing new materials with unique properties that can be used for 3D printing, but figuring out how to print with these materials can be a complex, costly conundrum. Often, an expert operator must use manual trial-and-error — possibly making thousands...
Webb captures stellar gymnastics in the Cartwheel Galaxy
Aug 02, 2022 (Nanowerk News) NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has peered into the chaos of the Cartwheel Galaxy, revealing new details about star formation and the galaxy’s central black hole. Webb’s powerful infrared gaze produced this detailed image of the Cartwheel and two smaller companion galaxies against a backdrop...
A new step towards using magnetic bacteria in cancer treatment
Aug 02, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Imagine a tiny vehicle, a nanocar (one million times smaller than a millimetre), equipped with a magnetic structure that allows it to be controlled and steered by means of magnetic fields. Let's imagine that we can insert this car into the human body and send...
New nanoparticle-based material could help detect antibiotics in water
Aug 02, 2022 (Nanowerk News) An international team of researchers has developed a new type of strong and elastic two-dimensional (2D) membrane (Small, "Strong and Elastic Membranes via Hydrogen Bonding Directed Self-Assembly of Atomically Precise Nanoclusters"). The invention could prove useful, for instance, in detecting remnants of antibiotics from water....
A nanofluidic osmotic energy generator
Aug 02, 2022 (Nanowerk Spotlight) In estuaries, where rivers flow into the sea, enormous free-energy dissipation takes place when fresh river water mixes with salty sea water. The release of Gibbs free energy from mixing seawater and fresh water is estimated to be up to 0.8 kW per cubic meter....
A flexible device that harvests thermal energy to power wearable electronics
Aug 02, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Wearable electronics, from health and fitness trackers to virtual reality headsets, are part of our everyday lives. But finding ways to continuously power these devices is a challenge. University of Washington researchers have developed an innovative solution: the first-of-its kind flexible, wearable thermoelectric device that...