Feb 05, 2024 (Nanowerk News) Two-dimensional semiconductors, heralded as the next generation in semiconductor technology, are characterized by their single atomic layer thickness. Due to their ultra-thin structure, two-dimensional semiconductors exhibit remarkable optical properties and provide flexibility, along with excellent integration capability with other materials, for a wide range of...
Watching the enzymes that convert plant fiber into simple sugars
Feb 05, 2024 (Nanowerk News) Research from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), and UC Davis sheds new light on how to access the sugars locked up in plants to produce petroleum-free fuels, chemicals, and medicines. Using microbes to convert grasses, weeds, wood, and other...
Lighting the way to advances in supercomputing
Feb 05, 2024 (Nanowerk News) Programmable photonic integrated circuits (PPICs) process light waves for computation, sensing, and signalling, in ways that can be programmed to suit diverse requirements. Researchers at Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST), in South Korea, with collaborators at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and...
Graphene spintronics hold promise to transform memory and logic devices
Feb 05, 2024 (Nanowerk Spotlight) Realizing energy-efficient, high-speed and highly integrated spintronic technologies has driven extensive research into new materials and device architectures. However, limited progress has been made translating the immense potential of spin-based memory and logic operations from visions to reality. Atomically thin graphene and magnetic van der...
A physical qubit with built-in error correction
Feb 05, 2024 (Nanowerk News) There has been significant progress in the field of quantum computing. Big global players, such as Google and IBM, are already offering cloud-based quantum computing services. However, quantum computers cannot yet help with problems that occur when standard computers reach the limits of their capacities...
Researchers develop AI-powered ‘eye’ for visually impaired people to ‘see’ objects
Feb 05, 2024 (Nanowerk News) Shopping for groceries is a common activity for many of us, but for visually impaired people, identifying grocery items can be daunting. A team of researchers from the National University of Singapore’s School of Computing (NUS Computing) introduced AiSee, an affordable wearable assistive device that...
Oxidation-induced super-elasticity in metallic glass nanotubes
Feb 02, 2024 (Nanowerk News) Oxidation can degrade the properties and functionality of metals. However, a research team co-led by scientists from City University of Hong Kong (CityU) recently found that severely oxidized metallic glass nanotubes can attain an ultrahigh recoverable elastic strain, outperforming most conventional super-elastic metals. They also...
Researchers 3D print functional human brain tissue
Feb 02, 2024 (Nanowerk News) A team of University of Wisconsin–Madison scientists has developed the first 3D-printed brain tissue that can grow and function like typical brain tissue. It’s an achievement with important implications for scientists studying the brain and working on treatments for a broad range of neurological and...
Butterfly mating behaviors inspire next level brain-like computing
Feb 02, 2024 (Nanowerk Spotlight) Artificial intelligence systems have historically struggled to integrate and interpret information from multiple senses the way animals intuitively do. Humans and other species rely on combining sight, sound, touch, taste and smell to better understand their surroundings and make decisions. However, the field of neuromorphic...
3D-printed pneumatic modules replace electric controls in soft robots
Feb 02, 2024 (Nanowerk News) In the future, soft robots will be able to perform tasks that cannot be done by conventional robots. These soft robots could be used in terrain that is difficult to access and in environments where they are exposed to chemicals or radiation that would harm...