https://phys.org/nanotech-news/ en-us Nanotechnology. The latest news on nanoscience, nanoelectronics, science and technology. Updated Daily. Many vaccines, including vaccines for hepatitis B and whooping cough, consist of fragments of viral or bacterial proteins. These vaccines often include other molecules called adjuvants, which help to boost the immune system's response to the protein. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-scientists-nanoparticle-vaccines-adjuvant.html Bio & Medicine Wed, 06 Mar 2024 14:00:01 EST news628942369 Entropy is often associated with disorder and chaos, but in biology it is related to energy efficiency and is closely linked to metabolism, the set of chemical reactions that sustain life. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-individual-red-blood-cells.html Bio & Medicine Wed, 06 Mar 2024 12:28:59 EST news628950536 Evaporation is a natural process so ubiquitous that most of us take it for granted. In fact, roughly half of the solar energy that reaches the Earth drives evaporative processes. Since 2017, researchers have been working to harness the energy potential of evaporation via the hydrovoltaic (HV) effect, which allows electricity to be harvested when fluid is passed over the charged surface of a nanoscale device. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-nanodevices-energy-evaporating-seawater.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Wed, 06 Mar 2024 12:28:55 EST news628950532 Scientists from the University of Rochester have developed new electrochemical approaches to clean up pollution from "forever chemicals" found in clothing, food packaging, firefighting foams, and a wide array of other products. A new Journal of Catalysis study describes nanocatalysts developed to remediate per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances known as PFAS. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-chemicals-electrocatalysis-method.html Nanomaterials Tue, 05 Mar 2024 16:49:04 EST news628879742 Catalysts unlock pathways for chemical reactions to unfold at faster and more efficient rates, and the development of new catalytic technologies is a critical part of the green energy transition. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-aluminum-nanoparticles-tunable-green-catalysts.html Nanomaterials Tue, 05 Mar 2024 16:28:26 EST news628878503 In a new Nature Communications study, Columbia Engineering researchers report that they have built highly conductive, tunable single-molecule devices in which the molecule is attached to leads by using direct metal-metal contacts. Their novel approach uses light to control the electronic properties of the devices and opens the door to broader use of metal-metal contacts that could facilitate electron transport across the single-molecule device. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-precisely-molecule-devices.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Tue, 05 Mar 2024 13:13:03 EST news628866781 The conductance of classical electric components typically decays with increasing length. In general, this is also the same behavior found at the nanoscale with 1D molecular wires. Now, researchers have demonstrated that, once more, things are different in the nanoworld (i.e. there is plenty of room at the bottom). https://phys.org/news/2024-03-ballistic-molecular-wires-porphyrin-nanoribbons.html Nanomaterials Tue, 05 Mar 2024 09:26:04 EST news628853161 A technology that enables the real-time display of colors and shapes through changes in nanostructures has been developed by Professor Kang Hee Ku and her team in the School of Energy and Chemical Engineering at UNIST. The technology has the potential to revolutionize various fields, including smart polymer particles. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-breakthrough-nanostructure-technology-real-display.html Nanomaterials Tue, 05 Mar 2024 08:56:03 EST news628851362 Researchers who work with tiny drug carriers known as lipid nanoparticles have developed a new type of material capable of reaching the lungs and the eyes, an important step toward genetic therapy for hereditary conditions like cystic fibrosis and inherited vision loss. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-lipid-nanoparticles-genetic-treatments-hereditary.html Bio & Medicine Mon, 04 Mar 2024 17:18:03 EST news628795081 Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to transform technologies as diverse as solar panels, in-body medical sensors and self-driving vehicles. But these applications are already pushing today's computers to their limits when it comes to speed, memory size and energy use. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-scientists-future-nanoelectronic-devices.html Nanomaterials Mon, 04 Mar 2024 14:44:02 EST news628785838 Credit cards embedded chips, national mints printed watermarks, and high-profile locations installed retina scanners all for the same reason—to protect information. As attackers grow smarter, so must defense. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-micro-mirage-fabricate-world-smallest.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Mon, 04 Mar 2024 11:51:10 EST news628775468 Aortic aneurysms are bulges in the aorta, the largest blood vessel that carries oxygen-rich blood from the heart to the rest of the body. Smoking, high blood pressure, diabetes, or injury can all increase the risk of aneurysms, which tend to occur more often in Caucasian male smokers over the age of 65. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-nanomedicine-aims-treatment-aortic-aneurysms.html Bio & Medicine Mon, 04 Mar 2024 11:34:04 EST news628774441 Inspired by nature, nanotechnology researchers have identified 'spontaneous curvature' as the key factor determining how ultra-thin, artificial materials can transform into useful tubes, twists and helices. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-spontaneous-curvature-key-shifting-nanomaterials.html Nanomaterials Mon, 04 Mar 2024 10:23:03 EST news628770181 Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University have developed a way to add single nanosheets of mixed metal oxide to gold nanoparticles supported on silica to enhance their catalytic activity. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-nanoscale-topcoat-turbocharge-gold-nanoparticle.html Nanomaterials Mon, 04 Mar 2024 10:13:29 EST news628769606 In a study recently published in the journal Small, researchers from Nano Life Science Institute (WPI NanoLSI), Kanazawa University, Japan, collaborating with Professor Sarikaya, Seattle, U.S., used frequency modulated atomic force microscopy to reveal the molecular architecture of genetically designed and point mutated peptides and their self-organizations each forming single-molecule thick, distinct biological crystals on atomically flat graphite and MoS2 surfaces, offering a potential platform for hybrid technologies such as bioelectronics, biosensors, and protein arrays. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-molecular-recognition-technological-solids-mutant.html Bio & Medicine Nanomaterials Mon, 04 Mar 2024 09:36:12 EST news628767368 Engineering researchers have developed a 2D printing process using liquid metals that they say could create new ways of creating more advanced and energy efficient computing hardware that is manufactured at the nanoscale. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-nano-thin-electronics-hardware-slash.html Nanomaterials Mon, 04 Mar 2024 09:36:06 EST news628767364 The human brain has billions of neurons. Working together, they enable higher-order brain functions such as cognition and complex behaviors. To study these higher-order brain functions, it is important to understand how neural activity is coordinated across various brain regions. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-nanosheet-method-revolutionizes-brain-imaging.html Bio & Medicine Nanomaterials Mon, 04 Mar 2024 05:00:02 EST news628519230 The most popular words of 2023 were recently released, with AI Large Language Model (LLM) unquestionably topping the list. As a front-runner, ChatGPT also emerged as one of the international buzzwords of the year. These disruptive innovations in AI owe much to big data, which has played a pivotal role. Yet, AI has simultaneously presented new opportunities and challenges to the development of big data. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-3d-nanoscale-optical-disk-memory.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Sat, 02 Mar 2024 09:00:01 EST news628164032 Quantum materials have generated considerable interest for computing applications in the past several decades, but non-trivial quantum properties—like superconductivity or magnetic spin—remain in fragile states. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-class-2d-material-displays-stable.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Fri, 01 Mar 2024 12:00:14 EST news628516812 Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is a common pathogen that can be transmitted from person to person. Long-term H. pylori infection has been recognized as a Class I human carcinogen. Currently, the standard clinical treatments for H. pylori infection (i.e., triple and quadruple therapy) rely on oral antibiotics to clear H. pylori from the stomach. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-team-nanoparticle-based-sonodynamic-therapy.html Bio & Medicine Fri, 01 Mar 2024 11:11:03 EST news628513861 Penn Engineers have developed a new means of targeting the lungs with lipid nanoparticles (LNPs), the minuscule capsules used by the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines to deliver mRNA, opening the door to novel treatments for pulmonary diseases like cystic fibrosis. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-precision-pulmonary-medicine-lung-disease.html Bio & Medicine Nanomaterials Fri, 01 Mar 2024 10:54:30 EST news628512869 As silicon-based computer chips approach their physical limitations in the quest for faster and smaller designs, the search for alternative materials that remain functional at atomic scales is one of science's biggest challenges. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-umbrella-atoms-layer-2d-quantum.html Nanomaterials Fri, 01 Mar 2024 10:53:04 EST news628512781 A team of NUS researchers led by Associate Professor Lu Jiong from the Department of Chemistry and Institute for Functional Intelligent Materials, together with their international collaborators, have developed a novel concept of a chemist-intuited atomic robotic probe (CARP). https://phys.org/news/2024-03-quantum-materials-precision-ai.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Fri, 01 Mar 2024 07:58:04 EST news628502281 "Opposites charges attract; like charges repel" is a fundamental principle of basic physics. But a new study from Oxford University, published today in Nature Nanotechnology, has demonstrated that similarly charged particles in solution can in fact attract each other over long distances. Just as surprisingly, the team found that the effect is different for positively and negatively charged particles, depending on the solvent. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-opposites-particles.html Nanophysics Fri, 01 Mar 2024 05:00:01 EST news628447294 Carbon nanotubes have shown promise for everything from microelectronics to aviation to energy storage. Researchers think this material might one day fulfill the science fiction dream of creating an elevator to space. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-nanotubes-metals.html Nanomaterials Thu, 29 Feb 2024 11:45:51 EST news628429547 Scientists from Australia and the United States have found a new way to alter the DNA of bacterial cells—a process used to make many vital medicines including insulin—much more efficiently than standard industry techniques. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-radio-tune-bacteria-life-medicines.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 29 Feb 2024 09:57:47 EST news628423064 A small combined team of material scientists from Sun Yat-sen University and Dalian University of Technology, both in China, has found that it is possible to make a single drop of water hop in desired ways by putting a magnetic particle inside of it and turning an electromagnet on and off. The research published in the journal ACS Nano. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-magnetizing.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Thu, 29 Feb 2024 09:29:39 EST news628421373 Atomic force microscopy, or AFM, is a widely used technique that can quantitatively map material surfaces in three dimensions, but its accuracy is limited by the size of the microscope's probe. A new AI technique overcomes this limitation and allows microscopes to resolve material features smaller than the probe's tip. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-ai-technique-decodes-microscope-images.html Nanomaterials Wed, 28 Feb 2024 17:16:03 EST news628362961 Protein-based drugs must be transported into cells in a way that prevents their immediate degradation. A new approach is intended to ensure that they remain intact only in certain cells, such as cancer cells. In a study published in the journal Angewandte Chemie International Edition, a Japanese research team has introduced a nanocarrier that can "escape" from endosomes before its cargo is destroyed there. This ability to escape is only triggered within the endosomes of certain tumor cells. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-nanocarrier-tumor-specific-drug-endosomal.html Bio & Medicine Wed, 28 Feb 2024 10:17:30 EST news628337847 Bioelectronics is a field of research in which biology and electronics converge. In medicine, for example, an external electric current is used to cure or monitor diseases of the nervous system, and also to monitor biomarkers in situ. Devices made of conductive materials are used for these applications. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-biocompatible-materials-bioelectronic-applications.html Nanomaterials Wed, 28 Feb 2024 07:21:03 EST news628327261