Feb 17, 2025 (Nanowerk Spotlight) Imagine drawing an electronic circuit with a marker pen, then transforming it into a functioning sensor with a laser. This capability, once considered impractical, has now been demonstrated through an innovative process developed by scientists at Graz University of Technology and Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna. Their...
Refining the CRISPR scissors
Feb 17, 2025 (Nanowerk News) The CRISPR-Cas gene scissors offer a wide range of potential applications, from the treatment of genetic diseases to antiviral therapies and diagnostics. However, to safely harness their powers, scientists are searching for mechanisms that can regulate or inhibit the systems’ activity. Enter the anti-CRISPR protein...
New lipid nanoparticle platform delivers mRNA to the brain through the blood-brain barrier
Feb 17, 2025 The findings, demonstrated in mouse models and isolated human brain tissue, could expand treatment options for neurological and psychiatric diseases. (Nanowerk News) Scientists at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have developed a lipid nanoparticle system capable of delivering messenger RNA (mRNA) to the brain...
New 3D printing method replicates nature’s finest fibers
Feb 17, 2025 (Nanowerk News) Researchers have been trying to find new ways to produce and replicate the various useful features observed in nature. Fine hairs and fibers, which are ubiquitous in nature, are useful for various applications ranging from sensory hairs to the fibers that give hagfish slime its...
Using a data-driven approach to synthesize single-atom catalysts that can purify water
Feb 17, 2025 (Nanowerk News) All humans need clean water to live. However, purifying water can be energy-intensive, so there is great interest in improving this process. Researchers at Tohoku University have reported a strategy using data-driven predictions coupled with precise synthesis to accelerate the development of single-atom catalysts (SACs)...
From collisions to stellar cannibalism
Feb 14, 2025 (Nanowerk News) Astrophysicists have unearthed a surprising diversity in the ways in which white dwarf stars explode in deep space after assessing almost 4,000 such events captured in detail by a next-gen astronomical sky survey. Their findings may help us more accurately measure distances in the Universe...
Graphene-based membranes improve dialysis efficiency with protein-stabilizing design
Feb 14, 2025 Researchers develop graphene-based dialysis membranes that enhance filtration efficiency while reducing protein loss for improved treatment. (Nanowerk News) A Vanderbilt-led research team has made a significant breakthrough in developing advanced dialysis membranes using atomically thin materials like graphene. These innovative membranes, called nanoporous atomically thin membranes (NATMs),...
Stretchable fabric emits light and sound for wearable displays
Feb 14, 2025 (Nanowerk Spotlight) Electronic displays surround us in rigid forms - from phone screens to televisions - but creating displays that can stretch and conform while maintaining brightness and functionality has remained an unsolved challenge. Standard display materials crack under strain, and previous flexible alternatives suffered from either...
Atomic traffic control – researchers develop novel technology for even more precise quantum sensors
Feb 14, 2025 (Nanowerk News) UNESCO's International Year of Quantum Science and Technology begins with a success for TU researchers at the Institute of Applied Physics: Physical Review Research ("Dichroic mirror pulses for optimized higher-order atomic Bragg diffraction") publishes results of their research on dichroic mirror pulses. These act like...
The next-generation solar cell is fully recyclable
Feb 14, 2025 (Nanowerk News) In a study published in Nature ("Aqueous based recycling of perovskite photovoltaics"), researchers at Linköping University have developed a method to recycle all parts of a solar cell repeatedly without environmentally hazardous solvents. The recycled solar cell has the same efficiency as the original one....