EurekAlert! InContext Modules

Public Release: 20-Jun-2012

Nature
Taming light with graphene
Spanish research groups achieve first ever visualizations of light guided with nanometric precision on graphene. This visualization proves what theoretical physicists have long predicted; That it is possible to trap and manipulate light in a highly efficient way, using graphene as a novel platform for optical information processing and sensing. Synergies between IQFR-CSIC, ICFO and nanoGUNE give rise to these noteworthy results reported in Nature this week in a back-to-back.

Public Release: 20-Jun-2012

Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology
Nano-pesticides: Solution or threat for a cleaner and greener agriculture?
Research is urgently needed to evaluate the risks and benefits of nano-pesticides to human and environmental health. Melanie Kah and Thilo Hofmann from the Department of Environmental Geosciences of the University of Vienna recently performed an extensive analysis of this emerging field of research. The results were published June 6th in the internationally recognized journal Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology. The study presents the current scientific state of art on nano-pesticides and identifies direction priorities for future research.

Public Release: 19-Jun-2012

Nanotechnology
Solar nanowire array may increase percentage of sun's frequencies available for energy conversion
Using a nanowire substrate to anchor advanced photovoltaic materials, researchers are able to alleviate strains between materials that otherwise would shorten life spans for photovoltaic products.

Sandia National Labs, US Department of Energy

Public Release: 19-Jun-2012

Physical Review Letters
In nanotube growth, errors are not an option
At the right temperature, with the right catalyst, there's no reason a perfect single-walled carbon nanotube 50,000 times thinner than a human hair can't be grown a meter long. That calculation is one result of a study by collaborators at Rice, Hong Kong Polytechnic and Tsinghua universities who explored the self-healing mechanism that could make such extraordinary growth possible.

National Science Foundation, Office of Naval Research

Public Release: 19-Jun-2012

International Journal of Nanoparticles
From pomegranate peel to nanoparticles
Food waste is a growing problem in many parts of the world, but discarded fruit peel, in the case of pomegranates, could be put to good use in the burgeoning field of nanotechnology according to research published in the International Journal of Nanoparticles.

Public Release: 18-Jun-2012
Advanced Photon Source and Canadian Light Source strengthen ties
The Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory outside of Chicago partners with the Canadian Light Source to tackle global challenges.

US Department of Energy

Public Release: 18-Jun-2012

ACS Nano
Study improves understanding of surface molecules in controlling size of gold nanoparticles
North Carolina State University researchers have shown that the "bulkiness" of molecules commonly used in the creation of gold nanoparticles actually dictates the size of the nanoparticles – with larger so-called ligands resulting in smaller nanoparticles. The research team also found that each type of ligand produces nanoparticles in a particular array of discrete sizes.

National Science Foundation

Public Release: 18-Jun-2012

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
University of Utah chemists use nanopores to detect DNA damage
Scientists worldwide are racing to sequence DNA -- decipher genetic blueprints -- faster and cheaper than ever by passing strands of the genetic material through molecule-sized pores. Now, University of Utah scientists have adapted this "nanopore" method to find DNA damage that can lead to mutations and disease.

National Institutes of Health

Public Release: 15-Jun-2012

Blood Cancer Journal
Nanoparticles engineered at Notre Dame promise to improve blood cancer treatment
Researchers from the University of Notre Dame have engineered nanoparticles that show great promise for the treatment of multiple myeloma (MM), an incurable cancer of the plasma cells in bone marrow.

Public Release: 15-Jun-2012

Nano Letters
Syracuse University researchers use nanotechnology to harness power of fireflies
Scientists in Syracuse University's College of Arts and Sciences found a new way to harness the natural light produced by fireflies using nanoscience. Their breakthrough produces a system that is 20 to 30 times more efficient than those produced during previous experiments.

Public Release: 15-Jun-2012

Science
Quantum bar magnets in a transparent salt
Scientists have managed to switch on and off the magnetism of a new material using quantum mechanics, making the material a test bed for future quantum devices.

Public Release: 14-Jun-2012

International Electron Devices Meeting

IEEE Transactions on Computer-Aided Design of Integrated Circuits and Systems
Stanford engineers perfecting carbon nanotubes for highly energy-efficient computing
Carbon nanotubes represent a significant departure from traditional silicon technologies and offer a promising path to solving the challenge of energy efficiency in computer circuits, but they aren't without challenges. Now, engineers at Stanford have found ways around the challenges to produce the first full-wafer digital logic structures based on carbon nanotubes.

National Science Foundation

Public Release: 14-Jun-2012

Angewandte Chemie
Switchable nano magnets
Using individual molecules instead of electronic or magnetic memory cells would revolutionize data storage technology, as molecular memories could be thousand-fold smaller. Scientists from Kiel University took a big step toward developing such molecular data storage.

Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft

Public Release: 14-Jun-2012

Julius Springer Forum on Applied Physics 2012
Thomas Elsaesser and Horst Weller receive the Julius Springer Prize for Applied Physics 2012
This year's Julius Springer Prize for Applied Physics 2012 will be awarded to Dr. Thomas Elsaesser from the Max Born Institute in Berlin and Dr. Horst Weller from the University of Hamburg for their pioneering achievements and the detailed understanding of elementary processes on the sub-nanoscale. The award, accompanied by $5,000, will be presented on June 20 at the Akademie der Kuenste in Berlin during the Julius Springer Forum on Applied Physics 2012.

Public Release: 13-Jun-2012

Nature
Got mass? Princeton scientists observe electrons become both heavy and speedy
A Princeton University-led team of scientists has shown how electrons moving in certain solids can behave as though they are a thousand times more massive than free electrons, yet at the same time act as speedy superconductors.

US Department of Energy, National Science Foundation, W.M. Keck Foundation, Eric and Wendy Schmidt Transformative Technology Fund

Public Release: 13-Jun-2012

Nature Nanotechnology
Self-assembling nanocubes for next generation antennas and lenses
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering have developed a technique that enables metallic nanocrystals to self-assemble into larger, complex materials for next-generation antennas and lenses. The metal nanocrystals are cube-shaped and, like bricks or Tetris blocks, spontaneously organize themselves into larger-scale structures with precise orientations relative to one another. Their findings were published online June 10 in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.

National Science Foundation, Hellman Foundation, UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering

Public Release: 13-Jun-2012

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
UCSB scientists synthesize first genetically evolved semiconductor material
In the not-too-distant future, scientists may be able to use DNA to grow their own specialized materials, thanks to the concept of directed evolution. UC Santa Barbara scientists have, for the first time, used genetic engineering and molecular evolution to develop the enzymatic synthesis of a semiconductor.

Public Release: 13-Jun-2012

Nano Letters
Ancient effect harnessed to produce electricity from waste heat
A phenomenon first observed by an ancient Greek philosopher 2,300 years ago has become the basis for a new device designed to harvest the enormous amounts of energy wasted as heat each year to produce electricity. The first-of-its-kind "pyroelectric nanogenerator" is the topic of a report in ACS' journal Nano Letters.

Public Release: 12-Jun-2012

International Scholarly Research Network Astronomy and Astrophysics
Nanoparticles found in moon glass bubbles explain weird lunar soil behavior
Using synchrotron-based nano tomography, Dr. Marek Zbik has found a highly porous network of alien-looking glassy particles inside unbroken bubbles of glass in a sample of lunar soil.

Public Release: 12-Jun-2012

Physics Review Letters
Tiny 'speed bump' device could sort cancer cells
Engineers have found an easy way to sort microscopic particles and bits of biological matter, including circulating tumor cells.

National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health

Public Release: 11-Jun-2012

ACS Nano
A new spin on antifreeze
A team of researchers from Harvard University have invented a way to keep any metal surface free of ice and frost. The treated surfaces quickly shed even tiny, incipient condensation droplets or frost simply through gravity. The technology prevents ice sheets from developing on surfaces -- and any ice that does form, slides off effortlessly.

National Science Foundation, Croucher Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship

Public Release: 11-Jun-2012

Actuators and Sensors
Radiation-resistant circuits from mechanical parts
University of Utah engineers designed microscopic mechanical devices that withstand intense radiation and heat, so they can be used in circuits for robots and computers exposed to radiation in space, damaged nuclear power plants or nuclear attack.

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency

Public Release: 11-Jun-2012

Nanomedicine
Nanoparticles in polluted air, smoke & nanotechnology products have serious impact on health
New groundbreaking research by scientists at Trinity College Dublin has found that exposure to nanoparticles can have a serious impact on health, linking it to rheumatoid arthritis and the development of other serious autoimmune diseases. The findings, published in 'Nanomedicine', have health and safety implications for the manufacture, use and ultimate disposal of nanotechnology products and materials. They also identified new cellular targets for the development of potential drug therapies in combating the development of autoimmune diseases.

Public Release: 11-Jun-2012
UK supplier of graphenes announces exclusive sales agency agreement with leading USA distributor
Haydale Limited, and Cheap Tubes Inc., today announce that they have reached agreement for CTi to act as the exclusive agent for the supply of the Haydale HDPlas nano products in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

Public Release: 11-Jun-2012

Journal of Molecular Diagnostics
A SMART(er) way to track influenza
Brown University researchers have created a reliable and fast flu-detection test that can be carried in a first-aid kit. The novel prototype device isolates influenza RNA using a combination of magnetics and microfluidics, then amplifies and detects probes bound to the RNA. The technology could lead to real-time tracking of influenza. Results are published in the Journal of Molecular Diagnostics.

National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation


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