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Apr 07, 2026 Researchers created a coil instrument that can control magnetic microrobots without continuous visual tracking, unlocking new possibilities for biomedical and other applications. (Nanowerk News) Southern Methodist University (SMU) researchers created an electromagnetic coil system that can control microrobots without requiring continuous visual tracking of their position—a significant...

Apr 07, 2026 Researchers created chain-like metamaterials with motorised hinges that can learn new shapes, forget old ones, and toggle between multiple forms without any central control. (Nanowerk News) Normal materials have fixed, predetermined responses when a force is applied to them, whereas robots have pre-programmed behaviours. In stark contrast,...

Apr 07, 2026 Star-shaped vanadium hydroxide nanoparticles show that changing a material's shape from sheets to stars shifts its energy storage from battery-like to capacitor-like behavior. (Nanowerk News) When created at the nanoscale, materials can resemble shapes like stars, rods or even pyramids. These particle shapes, also known as the...

Apr 07, 2026 A research team is investigating a new ecosystem on plastic particles in the oceans. (Nanowerk News) Trillions of persistent plastic particles of varying sizes are scattered throughout the world’s oceans, where they often accumulate in ocean gyres known as ‘garbage patches’. Two of these regions were the...

Apr 07, 2026 Parabolic flight tests reveal that gravity had been masking nearly all of graphene aerogel's light-driven propulsive capability in every prior experiment. (Nanowerk Spotlight) Graphene aerogels move when hit with a laser beam. These ultralight porous carbon structures, weighing as little as a hundredth of a gram per...

Apr 07, 2026 Researchers developed a visible-light-driven method using bismuthene as a photocatalyst to produce porous semiconducting polymers without metal catalysts under ambient conditions. (Nanowerk News) Researchers at Koç University have developed a light-driven method to produce porous semiconducting polymers under ambient conditions without the need for metal catalysts. The...

Apr 07, 2026 Engineers use laser patterning and iron-oxide ink to control graphene growth on polymers, creating flexible microelectrodes that detect dopamine and serotonin. (Nanowerk News) Just as embroiderers, with needle and thread, can transform plain fabric into an intricate pattern, engineers can use lasers and polymers to create flexible,...

Apr 07, 2026 Scientists use a mechanical resonator to enable greater entanglement for potentially more powerful sensors. (Nanowerk News) Most people think of diamonds as high-end adornments. Not Ania Bleszynski Jayich. The UC Santa Barbara physicist sees diamonds, which she grows in the UC Quantum Foundry, as a potentially powerful...

Apr 07, 2026 Living fungi weave conductive nanoparticles into their own growing networks, amplifying bioelectric signals 9-fold and opening a path to self-assembling functional materials. (Nanowerk Spotlight) Most manufacturing works by imposing structure on passive raw materials: melting, molding, cutting, curing. Biology works differently. A growing organism builds itself, assembling...

Apr 06, 2026 Targeted liposomal nanoparticles successfully cross the blood brain barrier to treat glioblastoma and doubled survival rates in preclinical brain cancer models. (Nanowerk News) Mayo Clinic researchers developed an experimental nanotherapy that delivers two cancer drugs directly to brain tumors, according to a study published in Communications Medicine...