Dec 22, 2023 (Nanowerk News) Analysis of organic compounds – called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) – extracted from the Ryugu asteroid and Murchison meteorite has found that certain PAHs likely formed in the cold areas of space between stars rather than in hot regions near stars as was previously thought....
Nanoscale patterns revealed within model research organism
Dec 22, 2023 (Nanowerk News) Species throughout the animal kingdom feature vital interfaces between the outermost layers of their bodies and the environment. Intricate microscopic structures—featured on the outer skin layers of humans, as one example—are known to assemble in matrix patterns. But how these complex structures, known as apical...
Pancake stack of films on a balloon most accurate gamma-ray telescope
Dec 22, 2023 (Nanowerk News) A pancake stack of radioactivity-sensitive films carried through the sky by a balloon was able to take the world's most accurate picture of a neutron star's gamma ray beam. To achieve this, Kobe University researchers combined the oldest method of capturing radioactive radiation with the...
Advanced computational tool for understanding quantum materials
Dec 22, 2023 (Nanowerk News) Researchers at the University of Chicago’s Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (PME), Argonne National Laboratory, and the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia have developed a new computational tool to describe how the atoms within quantum materials behave when they absorb and emit light. The...
Studying a million galaxies to find out how the universe began
Dec 22, 2023 (Nanowerk News) A team of researchers has analyzed more than one million galaxies to explore the origin of the present-day cosmic structures, reports a recent study published in Physical Review D ("Constraints on anisotropic primordial non-Gaussianity from intrinsic alignments of SDSS-III BOSS galaxies"). Until today, precise observations...
Researchers develop all-optical switches that could lead to faster computer processors
Dec 22, 2023 (Nanowerk News) Conventional computer processors have pretty much maxed out their “clock speeds” — a measurement of how fast they can toggle on and off — due to limitations of electronic switching. Scientists looking to make improvements in computer processors have become intrigued by the potential of...
The goldmine of a neutron star collision
Dec 22, 2023 (Nanowerk News) Neutron stars are the end products of massive stars and gather together a large part of the original stellar mass in a super-dense star with a diameter of only around ten kilometres. On 17 August 2017, researchers observed the manifold signatures of an explosive merger...
Applying MXene to quantum dot photovoltaic cells simultaneously increases efficiency and stability
Dec 22, 2023 (Nanowerk News) A research team led by Professor Jong-min Choi of the Department of Energy Engineering has developed a technology that can significantly improve the efficiency of quantum dot photovoltaic cells by introducing organic solvent dispersible MXene. The findings were published in Advanced Energy Materials ("Organic solvent...
AI Coscientist automates scientific discovery
Dec 22, 2023 (Nanowerk News) A non-organic intelligent system has for the first time designed, planned and executed a chemistry experiment, Carnegie Mellon University researchers report in the journal Nature ("Autonomous chemical research with large language models"). Key Takeaways A non-organic intelligent system has successfully conducted a chemistry experiment, demonstrating...
Simple, sustainable path unlocked to long-sought superior carbon nanotube materials
Dec 22, 2023 (Nanowerk News) Carbon nanotubes have long tantalized researchers with their extraordinary mechanical and electronic properties. As one-dimensional nanostructures with remarkable mechanical strength and electrical conductivity, CNTs have been eyed for next-generation composites, energy storage devices, sensors and more. Yet realizing their promise has proven an enduring challenge....