May 18, 2023 (Nanowerk News) A team of Korean engineering researchers has developed a quadrupedal robot technology that can climb up and down the steps and moves without falling over in uneven environments such as tree roots without the help of visual or tactile sensors even in disastrous situations in...
Boosting solar cell energy capture efficiency with a fullerene-derivative interlayer
May 18, 2023 (Nanowerk News) Solar cells are a critical component to the transition to renewable energy sources, and enhanced power conversion efficiency (PCE), or amount of power captured with a given amount of sunlight, increases the practicality of solar power in a society with high energy demands. Perovskite solar...
First observed radio waves from a type Ia supernova
May 18, 2023 (Nanowerk News) For the first time, astronomers have observed radio waves emitted by a Type Ia supernova, a type of explosion originating from a white dwarf star. This provides important clues to understand how white dwarfs explode (Nature, "A radio-detected type Ia supernova with helium-rich circumstellar material")....
‘Charge density wave’ linked to atomic distortions in would-be superconductor
May 18, 2023 (Nanowerk News) What makes some materials carry current with no resistance? Scientists are trying to unravel the complex characteristics. Harnessing this property, known as superconductivity, could lead to perfectly efficient power lines, ultrafast computers, and a range of energy-saving advances. Understanding these materials when they aren’t superconducting...
MXene hydrogel-based antibacterial epidermic sensors
May 18, 2023 (Nanowerk Spotlight) The field of wearable electronics has seen a surge of interest in the research and development of conductive hydrogels, largely due to their skin-like softness, structural resemblance to biological tissues, and tunable 3D conductive channels. These features make them particularly suitable for a variety of...
Machine learning-based protein annotation tool predicts protein function
Jan 18, 2023 (Nanowerk News) Microbes drive key processes of life on Earth. They affect global elemental cycles—the movement of carbon, nitrogen, and other elements. They also promote plant growth and affect the development of diseases. These roles are essential in every ecosystem. Research constantly expands the database of microbial...
Newly developed photochromic active colloids shed light on the development of new smart active materials
May 18, 2023 (Nanowerk News) In nature, the skin of cephalopods (animals with tentacles attached to the head) exhibits unparalleled camouflage ability. Their skin contains pigment groups that can sense changes in environmental light conditions and adjust their appearance through the action of pigment cells. Although intricate in nature, this...
Astronomers found a likely volcano-covered terrestrial world outside the Solar System
May 17, 2023 (Nanowerk News) A large international team led by astronomers at the Trottier Institute for Research on Exoplanets at Université de Montréal (UdeM) announced in the journal Nature ("A temperate Earth-sized planet with tidal heating transiting an M6 star") the discovery of a new temperate world around a...
Researchers use structured light on a chip in another photonics breakthrough
May 17, 2023 (Nanowerk News) In everyday life we experience light in one of its simplest forms – optical rays or beams. However, light can exist in much more exotic forms. Thus, even beams can be shaped to take the form of spirals; so-called vortex beams, endowed with unusual properties....
Controlling the shape of quantum dots with nanofaceting
May 17, 2023 (Nanowerk News) A new method of controlling the shape of quantum dots could make the technology that powers our daily lives more stable and more efficient, scientists claim. The process provides industry with opportunities to optimise optoelectronics, energy harvesting, photonics, and biomedical imaging technologies, according to the...