Nanotechnology News – Latest Headlines

Project uses crowd computing to improve nanotechnology water filtration

The research was conducted by 150,000 volunteers at IBM's World Community Grid.

Jul 6th, 2015

Structural shift elucidated with large-scale atomic simulations

Iron-nickel alloys' structure changes as they heat up and cool down.

Jul 6th, 2015

Transition from 3 to 2 dimensions increases conduction

Scientists have for the first time described the behavior of electrons in a previously unstudied analogue of graphene, two-dimensional niobium telluride, and, in the process, uncovered the nature of two-dimensionality effects on conducting properties. These findings will help in the creation of future flat and flexible electronic devices.

Jul 6th, 2015

Surfing a wake of light

For the first time, researchers have created wakes of light-like waves moving on a metallic surface, called surface plasmons, and demonstrated that they can be controlled and steered. The creation and control of surface plasmon wakes could lead to new types of plasmonic couplers and lenses that could create two-dimensional holograms or focus light at the nanoscale.

Jul 6th, 2015

Fundamental observation of spin-controlled electrical conduction in metals

Ultrafast terahertz spectroscopy yields direct insight into the building block of modern magnetic memories.

Jul 6th, 2015

3D atomic map gives clues to extending catalyst life

Researchers reconstructed the first 3-D atomic map of an industrially relevant zeolite material to track down its key element, aluminum.

Jul 6th, 2015

New nanocatalyst does more with less platinum

Platinum is a highly reactive and in-demand catalyst across the chemical and energy industries, but scientists could reduce the world's dependence on this scarce and expensive metal.

Jul 6th, 2015

A 'movie' of ultrafast rotating molecules at a hundred billion per second

A quantum wave-like nature was successfully observed in rotating nitrogen molecules.

Jul 3rd, 2015

Advancing the characterization of cellulose materials with state-of-the-art equipment

The Paper and Fibre Research Institute (PFI), a leading cellulose research facility in Trondheim, Norway, has invested in new ion-milling equipment and scanning electron microscope for characterization of cellulose-based materials.

Jul 3rd, 2015

Photonic crystal fibre: a multi-purpose sensor

A flying microbead in a hollow glass fibre measures temperature, vibrations and electric fields with high spatial resolution.

Jul 3rd, 2015

Scientists use nanoparticles to shut down mechanism that drives cancer growth

In a major step toward developing a novel therapy that targets epithelial-mesenchymal transition, scientists have inhibited the mechanism of the Twist protein using nanoparticles to deliver a nucleic acid called small interfering RNA, or siRNA, into tumor cells.

Jul 3rd, 2015

Major physics prize for graphene researcher

Dr Rahul Raveendran-Nair is the recipient of the 2015 Moseley medal and prize from the Institute of Physics for his outstanding contributions to our understanding of the electrical, optical and structural properties of graphene and its sister compounds.