Nov 29, 2022 (Nanowerk News) The urgent need to remove excess carbon dioxide from Earth’s environment could include enlisting some of our planet’s smallest inhabitants, according to an international research team led by Michael Hochella of the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Hochella and his colleagues examined the...
New device can control light at unprecedented speeds
Nov 29, 2022 (Nanowerk News) In a scene from “Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope,” R2D2 projects a three-dimensional hologram of Princess Leia making a desperate plea for help. That scene, filmed more than 45 years ago, involved a bit of movie magic — even today, we don’t...
Breaking the scaling limits of analog computing
Nov 29, 2022 (Nanowerk News) As machine-learning models become larger and more complex, they require faster and more energy-efficient hardware to perform computations. Conventional digital computers are struggling to keep up. An analog optical neural network could perform the same tasks as a digital one, such as image classification or...
Stable, faster computer memory storage
Nov 29, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Unlike in humans, when computer “brains” evolve, they get smaller and smaller. This is because the components that perform calculations and consolidate stored information work more efficiently when there are more of them tightly packed on a chip. Yet when the chip feature sizes get...
These nano-magnets that will restore damaged nerve cells
Nov 29, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Neurons are the fundamental units of the brain and nervous system, the cells responsible for receiving sensory input from the external world, for sending motor commands to our muscles, and for transforming and relaying the electrical signals at every step in between. Neurons, also called...
Dense nanoparticles slow down cells’ movements
Nov 29, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Since the concept of nanotechnology was first introduced several decades ago, it has been widely incorporated into many products, including electronic devices, fabrics, cosmetics, food, and drugs. Given these successes across different fields, medical researchers have used nano and micro particles for disease diagnostics, prevention,...
Temporary graphene ‘tattoos’ that measure blood pressure
Nov 28, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Blood pressure is a key vital sign that provides insight into our cardiovascular health. But blood pressure is typically measured only a few times per year by a clinician—and these measurements might not always be accurate (maybe, for instance, you’re nervous at the doctor’s office)....
Nanoengineers develop a predictive database for materials
Nov 28, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Nanoengineers at the University of California San Diego’s Jacobs School of Engineering have developed an AI algorithm that predicts the structure and dynamic properties of any material—whether existing or new—almost instantaneously. Known as M3GNet, the algorithm was used to develop matterverse.ai, a database of more...
Researchers build long-sought nanoparticle structure, opening door to special properties
Nov 28, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Alex Travesset doesn’t have a shiny research lab filled with the latest instruments that probe new nanomaterials and measure their special properties. No, his theoretical work explaining what’s happening inside those new nanomaterials is all about computer models, equations and figures. And so, when he...
‘Transformer’ pinwheels offer new twist on nano-engineered materials
Nov 28, 2022 (Nanowerk News) A newly discovered pinwheel structure—self-assembled from pyramid-shaped nanoparticles—may enable unique material properties that could be useful in areas like machine vision, armor, chemical and biological sensing, and more. The finding comes from a research collaboration led by the University of Illinois and the University of...