Jun 16, 2023 (Nanowerk News) In a recent comprehensive review article in Nature Reviews Materials ("Understanding ligand-protected noble metal nanoclusters at work"), researchers from the Nanoscience Center at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland, discuss the unique properties of nanometer-size metal clusters that make them suitable for various applications in catalysis,...
Nanopores can contribute to faster identification of diseases
Jun 16, 2023 (Nanowerk News) In a collaboration with Groningen University, Professor Jørgen Kjems and his research group at Aarhus University have achieved a remarkable breakthrough in developing tiny nano-sized pores that can contribute to better possibilities for, among other things, detecting diseases at an earlier stage. Their work, recently...
To boost supply chains, scientists are looking at ways to recover valuable materials from water
Jun 16, 2023 (Nanowerk News) For many materials critical to supply chains that will help enable America’s decarbonization transition, resources are limited. Traditional mining is fraught with challenges, so advancing clean energy depends on finding new ways to reliably access critical materials. Promoting national security and economic competitiveness will...
Revolutionary new method can manipulate the shape and packing of DNA
Jun 16, 2023 (Nanowerk News) A human cell harbors roughly 2 meters of DNA, encompassing the essential genetic information of an individual. If one were to unwind and stretch out all the DNA contained within a single person, it would span a staggering distance – enough to reach the sun...
When materials discovery glitters
Jun 15, 2023 (Nanowerk News) Thomas Edison famously tried hundreds of materials and failed thousands of times before discovering that carbonized cotton thread burned long and bright in an incandescent light bulb. Experiments are often time consuming (Edison’s team spent 14 months) and expensive (the winning combination cost about $850,000...
Discovery of white dwarf pulsar sheds light on stellar evolution
Jun 15, 2023 (Nanowerk News) White dwarfs are extremely dense stellar remnants with the mass of our Sun but the small size of our planet Earth. They are formed when a low-mass star has burned up all its fuel, loses its outer layers and its interior contracts strongly. They are...
Quantum interference of light: an anomalous phenomenon found
Jun 15, 2023 (Nanowerk News) One of the cornerstones of quantum physics is Niels Bohr's complementarity principle, roughly speaking the fact that objects may behave either like particles or like waves. These two mutually exclusive descriptions are well illustrated in the iconic double-slit experiment, where particles are impinging on a...
This salty gel could harvest water from desert air
Jun 15, 2023 (Nanowerk News) MIT engineers have synthesized a superabsorbent material that can soak up a record amount of moisture from the air, even in desert-like conditions. As the material absorbs water vapor, it can swell to make room for more moisture. Even in very dry conditions, with 30...
Engineers develop a soft, 3D-printable, metal-free electrode
Jun 15, 2023 (Nanowerk News) Do an image search for “electronic implants,” and you’ll draw up a wide assortment of devices, from traditional pacemakers and cochlear implants to more futuristic brain and retinal microchips aimed at augmenting vision, treating depression, and restoring mobility. Some implants are hard and bulky, while...
Laser-induced graphenization technique advances electrofluidic paths in microfluidic paper-based devices
Jun 15, 2023 (Nanowerk Spotlight) Microfluidic paper-based analytical devices (µPADs) are a type of technology used for fluid analysis that leverage the properties of paper and microfluidic channels. The main advantage of these devices is their low cost, portability, and ease of use, which makes them particularly suitable for field...