For detecting cancer, manual breast exams seem low-tech compared to other methods such as MRI. But scientists are now developing an 'electronic skin' that 'feels' and images small lumps that fingers can miss. Knowing the size and shape of a lump could allow for earlier identification of breast cancer, which could save lives.
Oct 29th, 2014
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With fears growing over chemical and biological weapons falling into the wrong hands, scientists are developing microrockets to fight back against these dangerous agents, should the need arise. In a new paper, they describe new spherical micromotors that rapidly neutralize chemical and biological agents and use water as fuel.
Oct 29th, 2014
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A multidisciplinary engineering team developed a new nanoparticle-based material for concentrating solar power plants designed to absorb and convert to heat more than 90 percent of the sunlight it captures. The new material can also withstand temperatures greater than 700 degrees Celsius and survive many years outdoors in spite of exposure to air and humidity.
Oct 29th, 2014
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Researchers decipher the role of nanostructures around brain cells in central nervous system function.
Oct 29th, 2014
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Empa toxicologist Harald Krug has lambasted his colleagues in the journal Angewandte Chemie. He evaluated several thousand studies on the risks associated with nanoparticles and discovered no end of shortcomings: poorly prepared experiments and results that don't carry any clout. Instead of merely leveling criticism, however, Empa is also developing new standards for such experiments within an international network.
Oct 29th, 2014
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Researchers have shown that crystalline gold nanoparticles aligned and then fused into long chains can be used to confine light energy down to the nanometer scale while allowing its long-range propagation.
Oct 29th, 2014
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Researchers succeeded in direct observation and video imaging of electron flow at 80,000m per second in a semiconductor. They did so by combining a new laser pulse light source and a photoemission electron microscope (PEEM) to develop an ultra high-speed microscope that enabled visualization of electrons on a 20 nanometer and 200 femtosecond scale.
Oct 29th, 2014
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Electrons are elementary particles - indivisible, unbreakable. But new research suggests the electron's quantum state - the electron wave function - can be separated into many parts. That has some strange implications for the theory of quantum mechanics.
Oct 28th, 2014
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A new way to calculate the electrical properties of individual components of composite materials could open a path toward more energy-efficient medical refrigerators, air-conditioned car seats and more.
Oct 28th, 2014
Read moreResearchers show how to make a new type of flexibly designed microscopic trap for atoms.
Oct 28th, 2014
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Recently, scientists used self-assembly under controlled conditions to create a membrane consisting of layers with distinctly different structures. Now, the team utilized small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) to better determine these structures and study how they form. This new information paves the way for design and synthesis of hierarchical structures with biomedical applications.
Oct 28th, 2014
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Researchers have developed a new method to overcome the problems of Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS), an ultra-sensitive analytical technique able to detect chemicals in very low concentration, even up to single molecules, and also to retrieve structural information.
Oct 28th, 2014
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Scientists have made the first observation of the electronic structure in silver-rhodium (Ag-Rh) alloy nanoparticles to investigate why the alloy possesses a hydrogen absorbing/storage property like palladium does, given that bulk Ag and Rh do not form an alloy, and that neither element alone is a hydrogen absorbing/storage metal.
Oct 28th, 2014
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New device screens for kidney disease, prostate cancer on the spot. The tiny tube is lined with DNA sequences that latch onto disease markers in urine. While healthy samples flow freely, a diseased sample gets clogged and stops short of the mark.
Oct 27th, 2014
Read moreScientists have succeeded in simultaneously observing the reorganizations of atomic positions and electron distribution during the transformation of the 'smart material' vanadium dioxide from a semiconductor into a metal - in a timeframe a trillion times faster than the blink of an eye. This marks the first time experiments have been able to distinguish changes in a material's atomic-lattice structure from the relocation of the electrons in such a blazingly fast process.
Oct 27th, 2014
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Researchers have delivered a scientific one-two punch with a pair of papers that detail how synthetic collagen fibers self-assemble via their sticky ends.
Oct 27th, 2014
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