Nanotechnology News – Latest Headlines

Saving platinum

Monolayer of platinum atoms on a tungsten carbide support catalyzes the electrolytic production of hydrogen effectively and cheaply.

October 20, 2010 Read more

Nanomachines make sugar juice flow

Plants play an important role as producers of sugar and carbohydrates. Scientists from the University of Wuerzburg are conducting research in this area - with the long-term goal of influencing sugar levels in agricultural crop plants.

October 20, 2010 Read more

Thailand 2010 Technologist Award

Four recipients received the 2010 Technologist Award in Bangkok.

October 20, 2010 Read more

Imec sets up R+D activity in Taiwan

Imec Taiwan today signed the co-funding contract with the Taiwanese Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) for its R+D activity Imec Taiwan Innovation Centre (ITIC). ITIC's goal is to expedite applied research projects with industry and academia that will result in electronic designs, components and technology solutions.

October 20, 2010 Read more

Nanotube thermopower

Efforts to store energy in carbon nanotubes described at AVS Meeting in Albuquerque.

October 20, 2010 Read more

Can fluid dynamics offer insights into quantum mechanics?

Experiments in which fluid droplets mimic the odd behavior of subatomic particles recall an abandoned interpretation of quantum mechanics.

October 20, 2010 Read more

Improved antibiotic coatings

A research group at the University of South Australia is working on techniques to permanently bind antibacterial coatings to medical devices by binding them to a polymer layer.

October 20, 2010 Read more

Photovoltaic medicine

Micro-scaled photovoltaic devices may one day be used to deliver chemotherapeutic drugs directly to tumors, rendering chemotherapy less toxic to surrounding tissue.

October 20, 2010 Read more

Batteries smaller than a grain of salt

Research funded by DARPA is pushing the limits of battery technology and trying to create some of the tiniest batteries on Earth, the largest of which would be no bigger than a grain of sand.

October 19, 2010 Read more

Chemical engineers use gold nanoparticles to discover breakthrough for creating biorenewable chemicals

University of Virginia chemical engineers Robert J. Davis and Matthew Neurock have uncovered the key features that control the high reactivity of gold nanoparticles in a process that oxidizes alcohols in water. The research is an important first step in unlocking the potential of using metal catalysts for developing biorenewable chemicals.

October 19, 2010 Read more

Taking the next step with graphene research

The 2010 Nobel Prize in Physics went to the two scientists who first isolated graphene, one-atom-thick crystals of graphite. Now, a researcher with the University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering is trying to develop a method to mass-produce this revolutionary material.

October 19, 2010 Read more

Long distance, top secret messages

Critical component of quantum communication device may enable cryptography.

October 19, 2010 Read more

Study of tiny magnets may advance their use in microelectronics

In the world of the very small, researchers at Shanxi University in China have announced progress in understanding the single-molecule magnet, which combines the classical macroscale properties of a magnet with the quantum properties of a nanoscale entity.

October 19, 2010 Read more

Sniffing out shoe bombs: A new and simple sensor for explosive chemicals

University of Illinois chemists have developed a simple sensor to detect an explosive used in shoe bombs. It could lead to inexpensive, easy-to-use devices for luggage and passenger screening at airports and elsewhere.

October 19, 2010 Read more

Intricate, curving 3D nanostructures created using capillary action forces

Twisting spires, concentric rings, and gracefully bending petals are a few of the new three-dimensional shapes that University of Michigan engineers can make from carbon nanotubes using a new manufacturing process.

October 19, 2010 Read more

Bacteria gauge cold with molecular measuring stick

Some bacteria react to the cold by subtly changing the chemistry of their outer wall so that it remains pliable as temperatures drop. Scientists identified a key protein in this response mechanism a few years ago, but the question of how bacteria sense cold in the first place remained a mystery. Based on a new study, the answer is: They use a measuring stick.

October 19, 2010 Read more