May 06, 2024 (Nanowerk News) MIT astronomers have observed the elusive starlight surrounding some of the earliest quasars in the universe. The distant signals, which trace back more than 13 billion years to the universe’s infancy, are revealing clues to how the very first black holes and galaxies evolved. Quasars...
Nanoparticle catalysts convert carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide to make useful compounds
May 06, 2024 (Nanowerk News) As a greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide (CO2) contributes to climate change as it accumulates in the atmosphere. One way to reduce the amount of unwanted CO2 in the atmosphere is to convert the gas into a useful carbon product that can be used to generate...
Researchers pioneer a low-energy process for high-performance solar cells
May 06, 2024 (Nanowerk News) Finding reliable, eco-friendly power sources is crucial as our world grapples with increasing energy needs and the urgent call to combat climate change. Solar energy offers one solution, with scientists devising ever more efficient materials for capturing sunlight. Perovskite solar cells have emerged as a...
Groundbreaking microcapacitors could power chips of the future
May 06, 2024 (Nanowerk News) In the ongoing quest to make electronic devices ever smaller and more energy efficient, researchers want to bring energy storage directly onto microchips, reducing the losses incurred when power is transported between various device components. To be effective, on-chip energy storage must be able to...
Precision laser crystallization enables patterning of high-quality perovskite crystals (w/video)
May 06, 2024 (Nanowerk Spotlight) Crystalline materials with precisely engineered structures lie at the heart of virtually every advanced technology, from the silicon microchips powering our electronics to the catalysts driving our chemical industries. Crystallization, the phenomenon that transforms disordered atoms or molecules into ordered solid-state structures, is thus a...
In a first, researchers generate a direct measurement of the interaction between immune cells and cancer cells from a patient’s biopsy
May 06, 2024 (Nanowerk News) Researchers at Bar-Ilan University have unveiled a technology that promises to improve cancer treatment decisions based on a patient's biopsy. The pioneering biological research and development measures changes in immune system cells adjacent to cancer cells, providing crucial insights into the patient's immune response and...
Surfaces on the move: dynamic liquefaction
May 06, 2024 (Nanowerk News) The boundary between solid metal and liquid metal can be much less ‘solid’ than we ever suspected. RMIT researchers have discovered that the liquid-solid boundary can fluctuate back and forth, with metallic atoms near the surface breaking free from their crystal lattice. Observing a metal-alloy...