Feb 13, 2025 (Nanowerk Spotlight) Water scarcity affects billions of people worldwide. While Earth’s oceans hold abundant water, converting seawater into fresh water requires substantial energy and complex infrastructure. Modern desalination plants use processes like reverse osmosis, pushing seawater through specialized membranes under high pressure. These facilities are expensive to...
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New ultra-sensitive method for detecting bacterial spores
Feb 13, 2025 (Nanowerk News) Bacterial spores are one of nature’s most resilient organisms. These tiny, seed-like structures form when bacteria enter a dormant state to survive unfavorable conditions. They can endure extreme environments, including boiling water, common disinfectants and radiation — conditions that would kill most bacteria. Their resilience...
Eco ink writes new chapter for graphene use
Feb 13, 2025 (Nanowerk News) Researchers at the University of Waterloo have unlocked the potential of graphene in areas as diverse as vehicles, consumer electronics and environmental cleanup with an eco-friendly ink for 3D-printing. The study appeared in Journal of Materials Chemistry A ("Additive-free graphene-based inks for 3D printing functional...
Engineers develop a fully 3D-printed electrospray engine
Feb 13, 2025 (Nanowerk News) An electrospray engine applies an electric field to a conductive liquid, generating a high-speed jet of tiny droplets that can propel a spacecraft. These miniature engines are ideal for small satellites called CubeSats that are often used in academic research. Since electrospray engines utilize propellant...
Unique five-atom bismuth ring synthesized
Feb 13, 2025 (Nanowerk News) Researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have synthesized a Bi5--ring, a molecule with five bismuth atoms, and stabilized it in a metal complex. Their discovery fills a gap in chemical knowledge and enables future applications in materials research, catalysis, and electronics. Their findings...
Electron correlations dominate processes in sub-nanometer particles
Feb 13, 2025 (Nanowerk News) Light-sensitive nanoparticles promise a wide range of applications, for example in the field of sensor technology or energy generation. However, these require knowledge and control of the processes taking place within them. Plasmons, collective electron movements in the nanoparticle which transport energy, are essential in...
Scientists develop innovative DNA hydrogels for sustained drug release (w/video)
Feb 13, 2025 (Nanowerk News) Hydrogels are polymeric materials with three-dimensional network structures containing large amounts of water. They serve as sustained-release drug delivery systems as they can encapsulate various bioactive substances, including drugs, antigens, and even cells. Hydrogels are better drug delivery alternatives than conventional systems, as they are...
Astronomers announce largest collection of exocomets found
Feb 12, 2025 (Nanowerk News) For the first time, astronomers have imaged dozens of belts around nearby stars where comets and tiny pebbles within them are orbiting. A paper describing these results appeared in the Astronomy & Astrophysics journal ("REsolved ALMA and SMA Observations of Nearby Stars (REASONS): A population...
Negative refraction of light using atoms instead of metamaterials
Feb 12, 2025 (Nanowerk News) For the first time, scientists have demonstrated that negative refraction can be achieved using atomic arrays - without the need for artificially manufactured metamaterials. Scientists have long sought to control light in ways that appear to defy the laws of Nature. Negative refraction - a...
Researchers develop safety evaluation technology for nanoparticles used in sunscreen
Feb 12, 2025 (Nanowerk News) The Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS) has developed a safety evaluation technology for nanoparticles used in UV-blocking cosmetics and has listed it as an international standard. The ‘acute nanoparticle phototoxicity (a phenomenon in which a specific substance causes a toxic reaction in...