News by Subject Chemistry & Physics

Molecules are usually formed in reaction vessels or laboratory flasks. An Empa research team has now succeeded in producing molecules between two microscopically small, movable gold tips -- in a sense as a 'hand-knitted' unique specimen. The properties of the molecules can be monitored in real time while they are being produced. The research results have just been published in Nature Communications.

Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is a potentially deadly infection in the large intestine most common in people who need to take antibiotics for a long period of time, particularly in Australia's ageing population. But when doses of a new antibiotic called Ramizol were given to hamsters infected with a lethal dose of the bacteria, a significant proportion of hamsters survived the infection.

Kanazawa University researchers discovered that the distance between dislocations in nanolayer interfaces of pearlite can determine how much the material can stretch or contract without breaking (ductility). The dislocations are disruptions in the regular arrangements of atoms in nanolayers. This discovery opens the possibility of engineering materials with higher ductility by simply manipulating the spacing between their dislocations and may improve the safety of structures such as buildings and bridges in earthquakes.

Scientists at University of Queensland and Swansea University department of Physics have developed a new, more sensitive method to measure ultrasound waves.

A new, more sensitive method to measure ultrasound may revolutionize everything from medical devices to unmanned vehicles. Researchers at The University of Queensland have combined modern nanofabrication and nanophotonics techniques to build the ultra precise ultrasound sensors on a silicon chip.

Using stimuli-responsive materials and geometric principles, Penn Engineers have designed structures that have 'embodied logic.' Through their physical and chemical makeup alone, they are able to determine which of multiple possible responses to make in response to their environment.