Jan 20, 2024 (Nanowerk News) Fleeting blasts of energy from space, known as fast radio bursts (FRBs), are a cosmic enigma. A Canadian-led international team of researchers has published new findings suggesting that supernovae are the predominant contributors to forming sources that eventually produce FRBs. “Fast radio bursts are one...
Scientists unravel key steps in the road to DNA repair
Jan 20, 2024 (Nanowerk News) Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University have been studying DNA repair by homologous recombination, where the RecA protein repairs breaks in double-stranded DNA by incorporating a dangling single-strand end into intact double strands, and repairing the break based on the undamaged sequence. They discovered that RecA...
New ultra-thin ‘skin’ for flexible electronics promises advancements for medical devices and prosthetics
Jan 20, 2024 (Nanowerk Spotlight) Electronic devices intricately mounted onto human skin have long captivated scientific imagination, tantalizing specialists by promising a seamless fusion of man and machine. Such skin-hugging circuitry could unlock medical sensors of unprecedented acuity or bionic limbs wired to the nervous system. But despite decades of...
Machine learning techniques accelerate development of anti-inflammatory biomaterials
Jan 20, 2024 (Nanowerk News) Biocompatibility is a crucial goal in medical device development. For years, scientists have worked to create implant coatings and components that integrate well with the body's immune systems. Despite thorough efforts, most prosthetics and implants still cause some inflammation, reducing their therapeutic value. The challenging...
Mini-robots modeled on insects may be smallest, lightest, fastest ever developed
Jan 18, 2024 (Nanowerk News) Two insect-like robots, a mini-bug and a water strider, developed at Washington State University, are the smallest, lightest and fastest fully functional micro-robots ever known to be created. Such miniature robots could someday be used for work in areas such as artificial pollination, search and...
revealing a novel magnetic phase diagram
Jan 18, 2024 (Nanowerk News) Quasicrystals are intermetallic materials that have garnered significant attention from researchers aiming to advance condensed matter physics understanding. Unlike normal crystals, in which atoms are arranged in an ordered repeating pattern, quasicrystals have non-repeating ordered patterns of atoms. Their unique structure leads to many exotic...
Physicists create a robust and ultra-sensitive toological quantum device
Jan 18, 2024 (Nanowerk News) A significant breakthrough has been achieved by quantum physicists from Dresden and Würzburg. They’ve created a semiconductor device where exceptional robustness and sensitivity are ensured by a quantum phenomenon. This topological skin effect shields the functionality of the device from external perturbations, allowing for measurements...