Sep 23, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Imperial College London researchers have embedded new low-cost sensors that monitor breathing, heart rate, and ammonia into t-shirts and face masks. Potential applications range from monitoring exercise, sleep, and stress to diagnosing and monitoring disease through breath and vital signs. Spun from a new Imperial-developed...
Mysterious ripples in the Milky Way were caused by a passing dwarf galaxy
Sep 23, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Using data from the Gaia space telescope, a team led by researchers at Lund University in Sweden has shown that large parts of the Milky Way's outer disk vibrate. The ripples are caused by a dwarf galaxy, now seen in the constellation Sagittarius, that shook...
Differentiate right- and left-handed particles by the force exerted by light
Sep 22, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Chirality is the property that the structure is not superposable on its mirrored image. Chiral materials exhibit the characteristic feature that they respond differently to left- and right-circularly polarized light (optical activity, Figure 1). When a matter is irradiated with strong laser light, optical force...
Astronomers detect hot gas bubble swirling around the Milky Way’s supermassive black hole
Sep 22, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), astronomers have spotted signs of a ‘hot spot’ orbiting Sagittarius A*, the black hole at the centre of our galaxy. The finding helps us better understand the enigmatic and dynamic environment of our supermassive black hole. “We think...
Heat-resistant nanophotonic material could help turn heat into electricity
Sep 22, 2022 (Nanowerk News) A new nanophotonic material has broken records for high-temperature stability, potentially ushering in more efficient electricity production and opening a variety of new possibilities in the control and conversion of thermal radiation. Developed by a University of Michigan-led team of chemical and materials science engineers,...
Exploring and augmenting the inner world of the cell
Sep 22, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Researchers at the MIT Media Lab have designed a miniature antenna that can operate wirelessly inside of a living cell, opening up possibilities in medical diagnostics and treatment and other scientific processes because of the antenna’s potential for monitoring and even directing cellular activity in...
Smart microrobots walk autonomously (w/video)
Sep 22, 2022 (Nanowerk News) A collaborative effort has installed electronic “brains” on solar-powered robots that are 100 to 250 micrometers in size – smaller than an ant’s head – so that they can walk autonomously without being externally controlled. While Cornell researchers and others have previously developed microscopic machines...
Researchers grow macroscale, modular materials from bacteria
Sep 22, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Engineered living materials promise to aid efforts in human health, energy and environmental remediation. Now they can be built big and customized with less effort. Bioscientists and synthetic biologists at Rice University have introduced centimeter-scale, slime-like colonies of engineered bacteria that self-assemble from the bottom...
Researchers uncover how to 3D-print one of the strongest stainless steels
Sep 22, 2022 (Nanowerk News) For airliners, cargo ships, nuclear power plants and other critical technologies, strength and durability are essential. This is why many contain a remarkably strong and corrosion-resistant alloy called 17-4 precipitation hardening (PH) stainless steel. Now, for the first time ever, 17-4 PH steel can be...
Tiny swimming robots treat deadly pneumonia in mice
Sep 22, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Nanoengineers at the University of California San Diego have developed microscopic robots, called microrobots, that can swim around in the lungs, deliver medication and be used to clear up life-threatening cases of bacterial pneumonia. In mice, the microrobots safely eliminated pneumonia-causing bacteria in the lungs...