Apr 26, 2023 (Nanowerk News) To develop cancer drugs, researchers often have to make tough trade-offs. Most drugs potent enough to kill tumors also cause unpleasant side-effects –and may end up doing more harm than good. Now, researchers and clinicians at Stevens Institute of Technology and Hackensack Meridian Health have...
Nifty nanoparticles help ‘peel back the curtain’ into the world of super small things
Apr 26, 2023 (Nanowerk News) Physicists at The Australian National University (ANU) are using nanoparticles to develop new sources of light that will allow us to “peel back the curtain” into the world of extremely small objects – thousands of times smaller than a human hair – with major gains...
Physicists measure and control electron release from metals in the attosecond range
Apr 26, 2023 (Nanowerk News) By superimposing two laser fields of different strengths and frequency, the electron emission of metals can be measured and controlled precisely to a few attoseconds. Physicists from Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), the University of Rostock and the University of Konstanz have shown that this is the...
Using OLEDs to image magnetic fields
Apr 26, 2023 (Nanowerk News) Smartphones could one day become portable quantum sensors thanks to a new chip-scale approach that uses organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) to image magnetic fields. Researchers from the ARC Centre of Excellence in Exciton Science at UNSW Sydney have demonstrated that OLEDs, a type of semiconductor...
Gene scissors in human cells also work against viruses
Apr 26, 2023 (Nanowerk News) The replication of potentially harmful adenoviruses can be significantly reduced in human cells in cell culture by using the so-called CRISPR-Cas9 system ("gene scissors"). This method, which is used worldwide in science and research, thus also offers potential for future innovative therapies for the treatment...
Astronomers solve the 60-year mystery of quasars
Apr 26, 2023 (Nanowerk News) First discovered 60 years ago, quasars can shine as brightly as a trillion stars packed into a volume the size of our Solar System. In the decades since they were first observed, it has remained a mystery what could trigger such powerful activity. New work...
Robot fish makes splash with motion breakthrough
Apr 26, 2023 (Nanowerk News) A coil-powered robot fish designed by scientists at the University of Bristol could make underwater exploration more accessible. The robot fish was fitted with a twisted and coiled polymer (TCP) to drive it forward, a light-weight low cost device that relies on temperature change to...
How to land on a planet safely
Apr 25, 2023 (Nanowerk News) When a lander descends toward the moon – or a rocky planet, asteroid, or comet – the exhaust plume of the rocket interacts with the surface, causing erosion and kicking up regolith particles. The resulting blanket of dusty debris can create a dangerous brownout effect,...
Treating polluted water with nanofiber membranes
Apr 25, 2023 (Nanowerk News) When oil contaminates water, it creates a film that reduces oxygen levels and introduces toxic substances. This can lead to the death of aquatic plants and animals, contaminate soil, and ultimately threaten human health. Separating oil from polluted water is therefore of great importance. Current...
Gene-encoded DNA origami for precise In vivo gene therapy
Apr 25, 2023 (Nanowerk News) As carriers of genetic information, nucleic acid molecules have emerged as promising candidates for gene-based therapeutic interventions. Nucleic acids, through the principle of complementary base pairing, can not only encode functional genes but can also accurately self-assemble into nanostructures with predetermined dimensions and morphologies. However,...