Researchers at the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) are turning to extremely tiny tubes and rods to boost power and durability in lithium-ion batteries, the energy sources for cell phones, laptops, and electric vehicles. If successful, the batteries will last longer and perform better, leading to a cost advantage for electric vehicles.
Posted: Jun 17th, 2014
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Nanopores could provide a new way to sequence DNA quickly, but the physics involved isn't well understood. That's partly because of the complexities involved in studying the random, squiggly form DNA takes in solution. Researchers have simplified matters by using a stiff, rod-like virus instead of DNA to experiment with nanopores. Their research has uncovered previously unknown dynamics in polymer-nanopore interactions.
Posted: Jun 16th, 2014
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Physicists have created a silicon nanocavity that allows light to be trapped longer than in other similarly-sized optical cavities. An innovative design approach, which mimics evolutionary biology, allowed them to achieve a 10-fold improvement on the performance of previous nanocavities.
Posted: Jun 16th, 2014
Read moreNew work studies the biodistribution and immunological efficacy protecting from infection of immunostimulant-loaded nanoliposomes in zebrafish in vivo.
Posted: Jun 16th, 2014
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Processes on the atomic scale can only be described accurately by using the laws of quantum mechanics. Physicists have now succeeded for the first time to completely determine the state of such a quantum mechanical system in experiments.
Posted: Jun 16th, 2014
Read moreWhat links legendarily sharp Damascene swords of the past with flexible electronics and high-performance electrical wiring of the future? They all owe their remarkable properties to different structural forms of carbon.
Posted: Jun 16th, 2014
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The development of a 'nanobarrel' that traps and concentrates light onto single molecules could be used as a low-cost and reliable diagnostic test.
Posted: Jun 16th, 2014
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The methodology is applied to investigate a protein complex acting as a calcium channel in the cell membrane. The channel plays an important role in prostate cancer.
Posted: Jun 16th, 2014
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The EU NanoSafety Cluster has released the 2014 edition of its anual compendium that documents the status of important EU-funded projects on nanomaterial toxicity and exposure monitoring, integrated risk management, research infrastructure and coordination and support activities as well as regulatory-focussed research on nanosafety.
Posted: Jun 16th, 2014
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Submicrometer particles that contain even smaller particles of iron oxide could make magnetic resonance imaging a far more powerful tool to detect and fight disease.
Posted: Jun 16th, 2014
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Study may advance understanding of how brain cell tubes are modified under normal and disease conditions.
Posted: Jun 13th, 2014
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Progress in the field of nanotechnology can only be achieved, if analytical methods for the characterization of nanostructures continuously improve. Due to the structures' small size visible light cannot be utilized for nanoanalytical techniques. In point of fact, microscopic methods with electron waves or X-rays must be applied here, as the wavelengths, they work with, are small enough. Multilayer Laue lenses (MLL) offer a most promising approach to developing highest resolution X-ray optics.
Posted: Jun 13th, 2014
Read moreWhat mode of action do nanomaterials ingested via food have in liver and intestine? Which factors determine their toxicity? Due to the large number of different nanomaterials, it is hardly possible to test every one for its toxic properties. For this reason, specific properties for the classification of nanomaterials are to be examined within the scope of the Franco-German research project SolNanoTox, which began on 1 March 2014.
Posted: Jun 13th, 2014
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Using a newly developed imaging method, researchers show that thin-film organic semiconductors contain regions of structural disorder that could inhibit the transport of charge and limit the efficiency of organic electronic devices.
Posted: Jun 13th, 2014
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Brightly-colored, iridescent films, made from the same wood pulp that is used to make paper, could potentially substitute traditional toxic pigments in the textile and security industries. The films use the same principle as can be seen in some of the most vivid colors in nature, resulting in colors which do not fade, even after a century.
Posted: Jun 13th, 2014
Read moreNanotechnology, optics and photovoltaic energy are among the fields that can benefit from advances in knowledge on semiconductor nanowire systems. Researchers have succeeded to prove, for the first time, the accumulation of high electron mobility gases in multilayer nanowires from a technique called 'remote doping'.
Posted: Jun 13th, 2014
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