Aug 29, 2023 (Nanowerk Spotlight) Tissue engineering aims to restore damaged tissues by combining cells, engineering materials, and biologically active molecules. The architecture and composition of the engineered scaffolds that support cell growth are critical for mimicking native tissues. Advances in 3D printing and assembly of multiple materials are enabling...
Titanium micro-spikes skewer resistant superbugs
Aug 29, 2023 (Nanowerk News) The increasing rates of drug-resistant infection has health experts globally concerned. To avoid infection around implants – such as titanium hips or dental prosthesis – doctors use a range of antimicrobial coatings, chemicals and antibiotics, but these fail to stop antibiotic-resistant strains and can even...
When dating a meteorite, be wary of aluminium-26
Aug 29, 2023 (Nanowerk News) An analysis of the approximately 4.6-billion-year-old meteorite Erg Chech 002, discovered in 2020 in the Erg Chech region of the Sahara Desert in Algeria, is presented in Nature Communications ("Igneous meteorites suggest Aluminium-26 heterogeneity in the early Solar Nebula"). In combination with previously published data,...
New and improved bioink to enhance 3D bioprinted skeletal muscle constructs
Aug 29, 2023 (Nanowerk News) An advancement in 3D bioprinting of native-like skeletal muscle tissues has been made by scientists at the Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation (TIBI). The key to the TIBI scientists’ approach lies in their specially formulated bioink, which contains microparticles engineered for sustained delivery of insulin-like...
Scientists continue to push the boundaries of imaging techniques and reveal the mysterious world of molecules
Aug 29, 2023 (Nanowerk News) Scientists from the IOCB Prague, the Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, and Palacký University Olomouc, have once again successfully uncovered the mysteries of the world of molecules and atoms. They have experimentally confirmed the correctness of a decades-old theory that assumed...
Quantum discovery offers glimpse into other-worldly realm
Aug 29, 2023 (Nanowerk News) The field of quantum physics is rife with paths leading to tantalising new areas of study, but one rabbit hole offers a unique vantage point into a world where particles behave differently—through the proverbial looking glass. Dubbed the ‘Alice ring’ after Lewis Carroll’s world-renowned stories...
Researchers produce polymers from ballbot-type carbenes for the first time
Aug 29, 2023 (Nanowerk News) N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) are small, reactive ring molecules which bond well with metallic surfaces and which, over the past few years, have attracted a great deal of interest in the field of the stable chemical modification of metallic surfaces. One property – discovered at the...
A look at graphene’s societal impact
Aug 29, 2023 (Nanowerk News) Graphene Week, the Graphene Flagship’s annual scientific conference during 4–8 September, will feature an open pavilion showcasing graphene products and prototypes, a press conference, the Graphene Innovation Forum providing an industry perspective on graphene technologies, and more. During the event, some of the Graphene Flagship’s...
Golden rules for building atomic blocks
Aug 29, 2023 (Nanowerk News) National University of Singapore (NUS) physicists have developed a technique to precisely control the alignment of supermoiré lattices by using a set of golden rules, paving the way for the advancement of next generation moiré quantum matter. Moiré patterns are formed when two identical periodic...
New type of visible-light responsive photocatalyst is efficient, stable and very economical
Aug 28, 2023 (Nanowerk News) Researchers at the University of Johannesburg have developed a new type of photocatalyst that harnesses the visible portion of the sunlight spectrum. Currently, economical and environmentally-friendly photocatalysts only ‘use’ the UV spectrum of sunlight, example the commonly-used titanium dioxide and other close equivalents. The research...