Nanotechnology News – Latest Headlines

Inspired by moth eyeballs, chemists develop gold coating that dims glare (w/video)

Light-absorbing, water-repellent material could reduce glare from solar panels and electronic displays and dull dangerous glints on military weapons.

Apr 4th, 2014

Lab-on-a-chip to detect pancreatic cancer in 5 hours

At the heart of the CANDO initiative, a lab-on-a chip device will be developed which will enable automatically identifying and measuring the concentration of circulating tumour cells.

Apr 4th, 2014

To bridge LEDs' green gap, scientists think small - really small

Nanostructures half the breadth of a DNA strand could improve the efficiency of light emitting diodes, especially in the 'green gap', simulations have shown. Nanostructure LEDs made from indium nitride could lead to more natural-looking white lighting while avoiding some of the efficiency loss today's LEDs experience at high power.

Apr 4th, 2014

Stick-on electronic patches for health monitoring (w/video)

Engineers have demonstrated thin, soft stick-on patches that stretch and move with the skin and incorporate commercial, off-the-shelf chip-based electronics for sophisticated wireless health monitoring.

Apr 4th, 2014

Probing the next generation of 2D materials

Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) is part of a wider group of materials known as transition metal dichalcogenides and has been put forward by researchers as a potential building block for the next generation of low-cost electrical devices.

Apr 4th, 2014

Electronics that dissolve when triggered

'Transient electronics' are based on special polymers designed to quickly and completely melt away when a trigger is activated.

Apr 4th, 2014

Nanotubes made from plants could allow delivery of DNA into cells, improve chemotherapy treatment

A novel nanotube, created from plant waste, could someday help to correct genetic disorders or treat cancer without chemotherapy's nasty side effects.

Apr 3rd, 2014

Microreactors produce nanoparticle inks for printing solar cells

The work is based on the use of a 'continuous flow' microreactor to produce nanoparticle inks that make solar cells by printing. Existing approaches based mostly on batch operations are more time-consuming and costly.

Apr 3rd, 2014

Magnetically controlled nanoparticles to force tumour cells to self-destruct (w/video)

The clever thing about the technique is that researchers can target selected cells without harming surrounding tissue. There are many ways to kill cells, but this method is contained and remote-controlled.

Apr 3rd, 2014

Structural insights into the inner workings of a viral nanomachine

Researchers are using new nanoscale im-aging approaches to shed light on the dynamic activities of rotaviruses, important pathogens that cause life-threatening diarrhea in young children.

Apr 3rd, 2014

An ultrathin collagen matrix biomaterial tool for 3D microtissue engineering

A novel ultrathin collagen matrix assembly allows for the unprecedented maintenance of liver cell morphology and function in a microscale 'organ-on-a-chip' device that is one example of 3D microtissue engineering.

Apr 3rd, 2014

How electrodes charge and discharge

New analysis probes charge transfer in porous battery electrodes for the first time.

Apr 3rd, 2014

Tiny biomolecular tweezers studying force effect of cells

A new type of biomolecular tweezers could help researchers study how mechanical forces affect the biochemical activity of cells and proteins. The devices - too small to see without a microscope - use opposing magnetic and electrophoretic forces to precisely stretch the cells and molecules, holding them in position so that the activity of receptors and other biochemical activity can be studied.