Nov 22, 2022 (Nanowerk News) NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope just scored another first: a molecular and chemical profile of a distant world’s skies. While Webb and other space telescopes, including NASA’s Hubble and Spitzer, previously have revealed isolated ingredients of this broiling planet’s atmosphere, the new readings from Webb...
Astronomers observe innermost structure of quasar jet
Nov 22, 2022 (Nanowerk News) At the heart of nearly every galaxy lurks a supermassive black hole. But not all supermassive black holes are alike: there are many types. Quasars, or quasi-stellar objects, are one of the brightest and most active types of supermassive black holes. An international group of...
Study shows chemical coatings can affect microparticles ‘swimming’ in mucus solutions
Nov 22, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Collaborative research between SMU nanorobotics authority MinJun Kim’s Biological Actuation, Sensing, and Transport (BAST) Lab and international research and engineering company ARA has demonstrated for the first time that certain chemical coatings, applied to micro/nanoparticles, can alter their swimming propulsion within biological fluids. The joint...
Embroidery as low-cost solution for making wearable electronics
Nov 22, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Embroidering power-generating yarns onto fabric allowed researchers to embed a self-powered, numerical touch-pad and movement sensors into clothing. The technique offers a low-cost, scalable potential method for making wearable devices. “Our technique uses embroidery, which is pretty simple – you can stitch our yarns directly...
Flocks of self-replicating assembler robots show potential for making larger structures
Nov 22, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Researchers at MIT have made significant steps toward creating robots that could practically and economically assemble nearly anything, including things much larger than themselves, from vehicles to buildings to larger robots. The new work, from MIT’s Center for Bits and Atoms (CBA), builds on years...
One-dimensional Weyl semimetals as unique topological materials for future electronics
Nov 22, 2022 (Nanowerk Spotlight) Topology is the branch of mathematics that explores the nature of shapes independent of deformation. Physicists developed the concept of the phases of matter with properties that are defined by the topology rather than the size and shape of the material or impurities. Recent investigations...
What robotics can learn from amoebae
Nov 22, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Amoebae are single-cell organisms. By means of self-organization, they can form complex structures – and do this purely through local interactions: If they have a lot of food, they disperse evenly through a culture medium. But if food becomes scarce, they emit the messenger known...