Technology

On the left, a classical phase contrast image of a cell obtained via a standard microscope. On the right, a thermal image of the same cell recorded with the team’s thermal imaging device. Credit: Bordeaux University Thermal properties of cells regulate their ability to store, transport or exchange heat with their environment. So gaining control of these properties is of ... Read More »

Artist’s rendering of P22-Hyd, a new biomaterial created by encapsulating a hydrogen-producing enzyme within a virus shell. Credit: Indiana University Scientists at Indiana University have created a highly efficient biomaterial that catalyzes the formation of hydrogen—one half of the “holy grail” of splitting H2O to make hydrogen and oxygen for fueling cheap and efficient cars that run on water. A ... Read More »

January 5, 2016 Graphene can simplify production of heavy water and help clean nuclear waste by filtering different isotopes of hydrogen, University of Manchester research indicates. Writing in Science, a team led by Sir Andre Geim demonstrated that using membranes made from graphene can act as a sieve, separating protons – nuclei of hydrogen – from heavier nuclei of hydrogen ... Read More »

A new composite material has been made by entrapping crystalline sheets called nanoplatelets into lipoprotein nanoparticles. These lipoprotein nanoplatelets are brightly fluorescent and enter cells rapidly. Credit: Sung Jun Lim, University of Illinois An interdisciplinary research team from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has developed a new material composite derived from quantum dots. These lipoprotein nanoplatelets are rapidly taken ... Read More »

With a special mode of electrohydrodynamic ink-jet printing scientists can create a grid of ultra fine gold walls. Credit: Ben Newton / Digit Works Researchers at ETH Zurich have manufactured transparent electrodes for use in touchscreens using a novel nanoprinting process. The new electrodes are some of the most transparent and conductive that have ever been developed. From smartphones to ... Read More »

Whether showing off family photos on smartphones or watching TV shows on laptops, many people look at liquid crystal displays (LCDs) every day. LCDs are continually being improved, but almost all currently use color technology that fades over time. Now, a team reports in ACS Nano that using aluminum nanostructures could provide a vivid, low-cost alternative for producing digital color. ... Read More »

A cluster of gold nanoparticles under a transmission electron microscope. Empty spaces between the nanoparticles can serve as nanoflasks, as suggested by the drawing Credit: Weizmann Institute of Science Miniature self-assembling “flasks” created at the Weizmann Institute may prove a useful tool in research and industry. The nanoflasks, which have a span of several nanometers, or millionths of a millimeter, ... Read More »

The stretchable, transparent heater could be used to warm the human body (where the black wrist strap can control temperature) or to defrost car mirrors. Credit: Byeong Wan An, et al. ©2015 American Chemical Society (Phys.org)—Researchers have fabricated a stretchable and transparent electrode that can be used for applications such as heating parts of the body and defrosting the side ... Read More »

(a, b) MIM capacitance images overlaid on top of AFM 3-D surface topography of an array of CVD grown aligned SWNTs on quartz substrates. Each sample has a 3.5 nm dielectric layer of (a) MgO and (b) SiO2. The impact of the increased ε for …more How do you get to know a material that you cannot see? That is ... Read More »

A gold nanoparticle, brought into contact to a DNA nanostructure, sticks to chemical patches. Scientists then dissolve the assembly, separating the DNA nanostructure into its component strands and leaving behind the DNA imprint on the gold nanoparticle. Credit: Thomas Edwardson Gold nanoparticles have unusual optical, electronic and chemical properties, which scientists are seeking to put to use in a range ... Read More »