Aug 06, 2024 (Nanowerk News) The world is going to need a lot of weird metals in the coming years, according to chemistry professor Justin Wilson at UC Santa Barbara. But he isn’t talking about lithium, cobalt or even beryllium. Wilson’s interested in dysprosium, which is so hidden in the...
Bioelectronic suture monitors wound healing in real-time
Aug 06, 2024 (Nanowerk Spotlight) The complex process of wound healing has long challenged medical professionals seeking to monitor recovery accurately and non-invasively. Traditional methods of assessing wound status often rely on visual inspection or periodic sampling, providing only intermittent glimpses into the healing process. These limitations have spurred research...
Molecules get a boost from metallic carbon nanotubes
Aug 06, 2024 (Nanowerk News) A Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) team has found that pure metallic carbon nanotubes are best at transporting molecules. Molecule separations play an ever-increasing role in modern technology from water desalination to harvesting critical materials to high-value chemicals and pharmaceuticals manufacturing. To enhance water and...
Soft gold enables connections between nerves and electronics
Aug 06, 2024 (Nanowerk News) Gold does not readily lend itself to being turned into long, thin threads. But researchers at Linköping University in Sweden have now managed to create gold nanowires and develop soft electrodes that can be connected to the nervous system. The electrodes are soft as nerves,...
New 2D material junctions power themselves for infrared imaging
Aug 05, 2024 (Nanowerk Spotlight) The miniaturization of electronic devices has driven remarkable technological progress over the past several decades. As components have shrunk to nanoscale dimensions, researchers have explored novel materials and structures to overcome fundamental physical limitations and enable new functionalities. Two-dimensional (2D) materials - atomically thin layers...
Novel ultrafast electron microscopy technique advances understanding of processes applicable to brain-like computing
Aug 05, 2024 (Nanowerk News) Today’s supercomputers consume vast amounts of energy, equivalent to the power usage of thousands of homes. In response, researchers are developing a more energy-efficient form of next-generation supercomputing that leverages artificial neural networks. These networks mimic the processes of neurons, the basic unit in the...
Using small black holes to detect big black holes
Aug 05, 2024 (Nanowerk News) The origin of supermassive black holes found at the centers of galaxies, is still one of the biggest mysteries in astronomy. They may have always been massive and formed when the Universe was still very young. Alternatively, they may have grown over time by accreting...
Self-powered pump harnesses light and chemistry to target, capture pollutants
Aug 05, 2024 (Nanowerk News) Dartmouth researchers have developed a self-powered pump that uses natural light and chemistry to target and remove specific water pollutants, according to a new report in the journal Science ("A molecular anion pump"). As water enters the pump, a wavelength of light activates a synthetic...
Toward a quantum electron microscope
Aug 05, 2024 (Nanowerk News) Electron microscopes have long been indispensable tools in scientific research, offering unparalleled resolution and magnification capabilities. However, current electron microscopy technologies face significant limitations, including high cost, large size, strong radiation damage to samples through interaction with the electron beam, and the need for cryogenic...
45 Percent transparency achieved in microdisplays
Aug 05, 2024 (Nanowerk News) Transparent electronics are already providing reliable services in some applications. For instance, they can be found as ultra-thin layers for touch displays or as transparent films with printed antennas for mobile communications. However, OLED microdisplays have not been transparent so far. As part of the...