May 31, 2024 (Nanowerk Spotlight) Self-assembly, the spontaneous organization of molecules into ordered structures, has long captivated scientists with its elegance and potential. By harnessing the same principles that shape cellular membranes and crystalline materials, researchers aspire to craft advanced functional materials from the bottom up. Among the most sought-after...
On-chip GHz time crystals enable new physics and optoelectronics
May 31, 2024 (Nanowerk News) Researchers have for the first time observed a time crystal on a microscale semiconductor chip oscillating at a rate of several billion times per second, unveiling exceptionally high non-linear dynamics in the GHz range. The results of the experiment, published in Science ("Solid-state continuous time...
Computational lens unmasks hidden 3D information from a single 2D micrograph
May 31, 2024 (Nanowerk News) National University of Singapore (NUS) physicists have developed a computational imaging technique to extract three-dimensional (3D) information from a single two-dimensional (2D) electron micrograph. This method can be readily implemented in most transmission electron microscopes (TEMs), rendering it a viable tool for rapidly imaging large...
World record reduction in photon emission
May 29, 2024 (Nanowerk News) A team of chemists, mathematicians, physicists and nano-engineers at the University of Twente in the Netherlands developed the ultimate device to control the emission of photons with unprecedented precision. This technology could lead to more efficient miniature light sources, sensitive sensors, and stable quantum bits...
Chicken feathers to deliver chemotherapy drugs and repair enzymes
May 30, 2024 (Nanowerk News) A new method of drug delivery using proline, an amino acid found in chicken feathers and skin tissue, could be used to limit the side effects of chemotherapy and repair important enzymes, new research suggests. Published in the journal Chem ("Metal-peptidic cages—Helical oligoprolines generate highly...
Nanoscale engineering brings light-twisting materials to more extreme settings
May 30, 2024 (Nanowerk News) Imaging the hot turbulence of aircraft propulsion systems may now be possible with sturdy sheets of composite materials that twist light beams, according to research led by the University of Michigan and Air Force Research Laboratory. The sheets were produced with a new manufacturing method...
New method makes hydrogen from solar power and agricultural waste
May 30, 2024 (Nanowerk News) Engineers have designed a new method to make hydrogen gas from water using only solar power and agricultural waste, such as manure or husks. The method reduces the energy needed to extract hydrogen from water by 600%, creating new opportunities for sustainable, climate-friendly chemical production....
Squishy magnetic microjoints bend the rules of microrobotics
May 30, 2024 (Nanowerk Spotlight) Robotic micromanipulation, which involves robots handling tiny objects, has long been limited by the challenges of integrating rotational joints at microscopic scales. The ability to precisely rotate and orient objects is crucial for complex micromanipulation tasks like cell rotation and industrial microassembly. However, space constraints...
Controlling ion transport for a blue energy future
May 30, 2024 (Nanowerk News) Blue energy has the potential to provide a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels. In simple terms, it involves harnessing the energy produced when the ions in a salt solution move from high to low concentrations. A team including researchers from Osaka University has probed the...
The thinnest lens on Earth is only three atoms thick
May 30, 2024 (Nanowerk News) Lenses are used to bend and focus light. Normal lenses rely on their curved shape to achieve this effect, but physicists from the University of Amsterdam and Stanford University have made a flat lens of only three atoms thick which relies on quantum effects. This...