Nanotechnology News – Latest Headlines

New sensor tracks zinc in cells

Shifts in zinc's location could be exploited for early diagnosis of prostate cancer.

Dec 9th, 2013

Scientists measure how light affects individual atoms for the first time

Researchers are unravelling how atoms vibrate and change when hit with intense bursts of light.

Dec 9th, 2013

Solar cell degradation observed directly for the first time

X-ray examination shows structural changes in 'plastics' solar cells.

Dec 9th, 2013

Morphing material has mighty potential (w/video)

Composite invented at Rice may find use in bioscaffolds, optics, drugs.

Dec 9th, 2013

Making solar cells thin, efficient and flexible with a nanoimprinting technique

Researchers may be one step closer to tapping into the full potential of solar cells. The team found a way to create large sheets of nanotextured, silicon micro-cell arrays that hold the promise of making solar cells lightweight, more efficient, bendable and easy to mass produce.

Dec 9th, 2013

Scientists scale terahertz peaks in nanotubes

Researchers find plasmonic root of terahertz signals in some carbon nanotubes.

Dec 9th, 2013

Triboelectric generators capture wasted power (w/video)

With one stomp of his foot, Zhong Lin Wang illuminates a thousand LED bulbs - with no batteries or power cord. The current comes from essentially the same source as that tiny spark that jumps from a fingertip to a doorknob when you walk across carpet on a cold, dry day. Wang and his research team have learned to harvest this power and put it to work.

Dec 9th, 2013

Polymers can be semimetals

Polymers can behave like insulators, semiconductors and metals - as well as semimetals. Twenty researchers, under the leadership of Xavier Crispin, Docent in organic electronics at Link�ping University, are behind the breakthrough.

Dec 9th, 2013

Pioneering path to electrical conductivity in 'tinker toy' materials

Sandia National Laboratories researchers have devised a novel way to realize electrical conductivity in metal-organic framework (MOF) materials, a development that could have profound implications for the future of electronics, sensors, energy conversion and energy storage.

Dec 9th, 2013

Optical techniques for accurately determining the toxicity of nanomaterials

EPFL researchers have developed a method for accurately determining the toxicity of nanomaterials. By using optical techniques, they are able to measure the concentration of the oxidizing substances produced by a damaged cell. Furthermore, this research also offers a new way to know more about the mechanisms of oxidative stress.

Dec 9th, 2013

Nanofibers from ecycled plastic prove effective in killing drug-resistant fungi

Researchers have discovered a new, potentially life-saving application for polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which is widely used to make plastic bottles. They have successfully converted PET into a non-toxic biocompatible material with superior fungal killing properties.

Dec 9th, 2013

Drug-dispensing contact lens delivers glaucoma medication continuously for a month

Researchers are one step closer to an eye drop-free reality with the development of a drug-eluting contact lens designed for prolonged delivery of latanoprost, a common drug used for the treatment of glaucoma, the leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide.

Dec 9th, 2013

Electrical control of single atom magnets

The energy needed to change the magnetic orientation of a single atom - which determines its magnetic stability and therefore its usefulness in a variety of future device applications - can be modified by varying the atom's electrical coupling to nearby metals.

Dec 8th, 2013