DNA used as a nano-gold lightswitch
A nanostructure made from two tiny gold rods reversibly changes its optical properties when specific DNA molecules are added.
Jul 21st, 2014
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Nanotechnology News – Latest Headlines
New spongelike structure converts solar energy into steam
The structure - a layer of graphite flakes and an underlying carbon foam - is a porous, insulating material structure that floats on water. When sunlight hits the structure's surface, it creates a hotspot in the graphite, drawing water up through the material's pores, where it evaporates as steam.
Jul 21st, 2014
Read moreScientists explain how gold nanoparticles easily penetrate cells, making them useful for delivering drugs (w/video)
A new study from MIT materials scientists reveals that gold nanoparticles enter cells by taking advantage of a route normally used in vesicle-vesicle fusion, a crucial process that allows signal transmission between neurons. They describe in detail the mechanism by which these nanoparticles are able to fuse with a membrane.
Jul 21st, 2014
Read moreA noble gas cage
New material traps gases from nuclear fuel better and uses less energy than currently available options.
Jul 20th, 2014
Read morePlasmon nanosensor heightens bomb detection sensitivity
New technology under development at the University of California, Berkeley, could soon give bomb-sniffing dogs some serious competition.
Jul 20th, 2014
Read moreMaking a better battery with sulfur 'nano-nugget' cathodes (w/video)
Researchers are working to make a better battery by making the cathode of sulfur instead of today's lithium-cobalt oxide.
Jul 20th, 2014
Read moreNew metamaterial puts a twist in light
Scientists have uncovered the secret to twisting light at will. It is the latest step in the development of photonics, the faster, more compact and less carbon-hungry successor to electronics.
Jul 18th, 2014
Read moreUsing nanofiber mats to extraxt uranium from the ocean
The U.S. Department of Energy selected a University of Alabama start-up company for an approximate $1.5 million award to refine an alternative material to potentially extract uranium from the ocean.
Jul 18th, 2014
Read moreNature's strongest glue comes unstuck
Over a 150 years since it was first described by Darwin, scientists are finally uncovering the secrets behind the super strength of barnacle glue.
Jul 18th, 2014
Read moreFuture electronics may depend on lasers, not quartz
Nearly all electronics require devices called oscillators that create precise frequencies - frequencies used to keep time in wristwatches or to transmit reliable signals to radios. For nearly a century, these oscillators have relied upon quartz crystals to provide a frequency reference, much like a tuning fork is used as a reference to tune a piano. A new approach could ultimately replace the quartz crystal frequency reference - technology in use since the 1920s.
Jul 17th, 2014
Read more'Nanocamera' takes pictures at distances smaller than light's own wavelength
Researchers have demonstrated that an array of novel gold, pillar-bowtie nanoantennas can be used like traditional photographic film to record light for distances that are much smaller than the wavelength of light. A standard optical microscope acts as a 'nanocamera' whereas the pillar-bowtie nanoantennas are the analogous film.
Jul 17th, 2014
Read moreUltrafast x-ray laser sheds new light on fundamental ultrafast dynamics
Ultrafast X-ray laser research has provided scientists with a snapshot of a fundamental molecular phenomenon. The finding sheds new light on microscopic electron motion in molecules.
Jul 17th, 2014
Read moreFirst ab initio method for characterizing hot carriers
Researchers have developed the first ab initio method for characterizing the properties of 'hot carriers' in semiconductors. This should help clear a major road block to the development of new, more efficient solar cells.
Jul 17th, 2014
Read morePhysicists reveal quantum effects in biological oxygen transport
Physicists have created a unique combination of computer models, based on the theory of quantum mechanics, and applied them to a previously well characterised protein found in muscle to develop a new picture of how biomolecules transport and store oxygen.
Jul 17th, 2014
Read moreMagnetic nanomaterials draw molecules from live cells
Researchers have devised a new method for extracting molecules from live cells without disrupting cell development, work that could provide new avenues for the diagnosis of cancer and other diseases.
Jul 17th, 2014
Read morePlasmon-enhanced polarization-selective filter
This structure composed of multiple holes array by filling it with nonlinear medium combines the characteristics of selectable wavelength, enhanced transmission, polarization separation and output control by the intensity of incident light. This result is useful for integrated optical circuits and on-chip optical interconnects.
Jul 17th, 2014
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