Apr 24, 2026 A 4D-printed structure pairs origami panels with a lattice core to fold flat for storage and bear heavy loads once deployed. (Nanowerk Spotlight) When the James Webb Space Telescope launched in December 2021, its five-layer sunshield, roughly the size of a tennis court when deployed, had to...
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Bioinspired hollow diamond foam boosts phase change material thermal performance
Apr 24, 2026 A bioinspired hollow diamond foam composite increases PEG thermal conductivity by 378% and achieves 86.68% photothermal conversion efficiency for energy storage. (Nanowerk News) Researchers at the University of Science and Technology Beijing have developed a composite phase change material that uses a hollow diamond foam skeleton to...
Local dwarf galaxies may preserve a record of the infant Universe
Apr 24, 2026 Ultra-faint dwarf galaxies orbiting the Milky Way are cosmic fossils. New simulations reveal how these tiny systems reflect early Universe conditions and why some galaxies grew while others didn't. (Nanowerk News) Ultra-faint dwarf galaxies, tiny satellite galaxies orbiting the Milky Way, have long been seen as cosmic...
Twisted nanoparticles sorted by light
Apr 24, 2026 Light near the surface of ultra-thin optical fibers allows sorting of chiral nanoparticles based on their handedness. (Nanowerk News) Many important objects in the world can be divided into two categories based on their chirality or handedness, including molecules important for life such as amino acids. Such...
Liquid metal nanoparticles freeze into spikes that kill drug-resistant cancer
Apr 24, 2026 Bismuth-doped gallium nanoparticles transform into cell-puncturing spikes under freezing, killing drug-resistant lung, colorectal, and ovarian cancer organoids through mechanical disruption rather than biochemistry. (Nanowerk Spotlight) Water expanding as it freezes can split rock and burst steel pipes. The force is purely physical. It requires no chemical reaction,...
New all-in-one metal-organic framework makes solar hydrogen production simpler
Apr 24, 2026 Researchers developed a 2D metal-organic framework that works as a single all-in-one cocatalyst for photocatalytic water splitting, simplifying clean hydrogen fuel production from sunlight. (Nanowerk News) Researchers have demonstrated the first "all-in-one" cocatalyst for photocatalytic overall water splitting (OWS), a breakthrough that could simplify the production of...
Building a better delivery system for gene editing machines by re-engineering the cellular factory
Apr 24, 2026 A new study improves gene editing delivery by engineering the human cells that produce virus-like particles, boosting the potency of these key therapeutic vehicles. (Nanowerk News) Gene editing has emerged as a powerful approach for targeting the genetic causes of disease, but getting the editing machinery into...
Turning waste biomass into hydrogen and value-added chemicals
Apr 24, 2026 Scientists develop electrochemical system for simultaneous production using waste glycerol. (Nanowerk News) Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS), led by President Chul-jin Choi, announced that a research team led by Juchan Yang, principal researcher at KIMS, in collaboration with Professor Ji-Wook Jang, Hankwon Lim, and Hosik Lee...
Tiny, knotted robots jump, fly and plant seeds
Apr 24, 2026 A knot doesn't just fall apart, it snaps. Engineers harnessed that energy release to create tiny soft robots that leap meters high, flip, spin or glide. (Nanowerk News) When a knot lets go, it doesn’t just fall apart. It snaps. That simple observation led Penn Engineers to...
Tiny structural shift leads to big leap in solar fuel
Apr 20, 2026 An orthogonal molecular architecture directs the formation of a rare double-cable structure, offering a new blueprint for advancing the fundamental design of energy-active materials. By guiding charges to move along separate pathways, the new design minimizes energy loss and boosts clean energy generation. (Nanowerk News) In a...