Oct 14, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Scientists working on a solution for plastic waste have developed a two-step chemical and biological process to break down and upcycle mixed plastics into valuable bioproducts. The project, which involves multiple institutions, draws on synthetic biology expertise at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National...
Gene activity in a test tube
Oct 14, 2022 (Nanowerk News) When searching for the causes of illnesses and developing new treatments, it is absolutely vital to have a precise understanding of the genetic fundamentals. Würzburg researchers have devised a new technique for this purpose. Pathological processes are usually characterised by altered gene activity in the...
Clarification of material properties for clearly better displays
Oct 14, 2022 (Nanowerk News) All displays consist of a lattice of tiny dots of light, called pixels, the brightness of which can be individually controlled. The total number of pixels—and therefore, the resolution and display size—is limited by how many of these pixels can be addressed within a given...
New walking robot design could revolutionize how we build things in space
Oct 14, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Researchers have designed a state-of-the-art walking robot that could revolutionize large construction projects in space. They tested the feasibility of the robot for the in-space assembly of a 25m Large Aperture Space Telescope. They present their findings in Frontiers in Robotics and AI ("Design engineering...
Fast-as-lightning 3D microprinting with two lasers
Oct 14, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Printing objects from plastic precisely, quickly, and inexpensively is the goal of many 3D printing processes. However, speed and high resolution remain a technological challenge. A research team from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Heidelberg University, and the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) has...
Machine learning predicts heat capacities of MOFs
Oct 13, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are a class of materials that contain nano-sized pores. These pores give MOFs record-breaking internal surface areas, which make them extremely versatile for a number of applications: separating petrochemicals and gases, mimicking DNA, producing hydrogen, and removing heavy metals, fluoride anions, and...
Accurately tracking how plastic biodegrades
Oct 13, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Modern agriculture uses a lot of plastic, especially in the form of mulch film that farmers use to cover field soils. This keeps the soils moist for crops, suppresses weeds and promotes crop growth. However, it is usually very time-consuming and costly for farmers to...
Scientists count electric charges in a single catalyst nanoparticle down to the electron
Oct 13, 2022 (Nanowerk News) If you often find yourself off by one when counting your socks after doing the laundry, you might want to sit down for this. Scientists in Japan have now counted the number of extra – or missing – charges down to a precision of just...
‘Smart plastic’ material is step forward toward soft, flexible robotics and electronics
Oct 13, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Inspired by living things from trees to shellfish, researchers at The University of Texas at Austin set out to create a plastic much like many life forms that are hard and rigid in some places and soft and stretchy in others. Their success — a...
massive stars sound warning they are about to go supernova
Oct 13, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Astronomers from Liverpool John Moores University and the University of Montpellier have devised an ‘early warning’ system to sound the alert when a massive star is about to end its life in a supernova explosion. The work was published in Monthly Notices of the Royal...