May 19, 2023 (Nanowerk News) In 1610, the rings of Saturn were observed for the first time when Galileo Galilei pointed his telescope toward the great gas giant, though his instrument was not powerful enough to discern the true nature of these magnificent structures. In 1655, Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens...
Smart material prototype challenges Newton’s laws of motion
May 19, 2023 (Nanowerk News) For more than 10 years, Guoliang Huang, the Huber and Helen Croft Chair in Engineering at the University of Missouri, has been investigating the unconventional properties of metamaterials – an artificial material that exhibits properties not commonly found in nature as defined by Newton’s laws...
Researchers demonstrate novel way to convert heat to electricity
May 19, 2023 (Nanowerk News) Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have fabricated a novel device that could dramatically boost the conversion of heat into electricity. If perfected, the technology could help recoup some of the heat energy that is wasted in the U.S. at a...
High-quality 2D nanosheets could be one-drop away
May 19, 2023 (Nanowerk News) A research group led by Professor Minoru Osada (he, him) and postdoctoral researcher Yue Shi (she, her) at the Institute for Future Materials and Systems (IMaSS), Nagoya University in Japan, has developed a new technology to fabricate nanosheets, thin films of two-dimensional materials a couple...
proteins set vesicles in motion
May 19, 2023 (Nanowerk News) Creating artificial cells with life-like characteristics out of a minimal set of components is a major goal of synthetic biology. Autonomous motion is a key capability here, and one that is difficult to reproduce in the test tube. A team led by physicist Erwin Frey,...
Artificial intelligence catalyzes gene activation research and uncovers rare DNA sequences
May 19, 2023 (Nanowerk News) Artificial intelligence has exploded across our news feeds, with ChatGPT and related AI technologies becoming the focus of broad public scrutiny. Beyond popular chatbots, biologists are finding ways to leverage AI to probe the core functions of our genes. Previously, University of California San Diego...
An X-ray look at the heart of powerful quasars
May 19, 2023 (Nanowerk News) Researchers have observed the X-ray emission of the most luminous quasar seen in the last 9 billion years of cosmic history, known as SMSS J114447.77-430859.3, or J1144 for short. The new perspective sheds light on the inner workings of quasars and how they interact with...
Novel 3D printing method a ‘game changer’ for discovery, manufacturing of new materials
May 19, 2023 (Nanowerk News) The time-honored Edisonian trial-and-error process of discovery is slow and labor-intensive. This hampers the development of urgently needed new technologies for clean energy and environmental sustainability, as well as for electronics and biomedical devices. “It usually takes 10 to 20 years to discover a new...
New technology amplifies high harmonic generation in nanostructured metasurfaces
May 18, 2023 (Nanowerk News) Both natural and synthetic crystals possess an intriguing ability to modify the spectral hue of light through a phenomenon termed as the nonlinear optical effect. This colour conversion is instrumental in a myriad of applications such as nonlinear microscopy for the inspection of biological structures...
Massive neutron star has a strange heart
May 18, 2023 (Nanowerk News) Upon the cessation of nuclear fusion that characterizes the terminal phase of a star's life, gravitational forces prevail over the diminished pressure, potentially leading to the emergence of neutron stars – cosmic bodies comprising the universe's densest matter. The exact composition of these neutron stars,...