Month: June 2021

A scientific breakthrough: Researchers from Tel Aviv University have engineered the world’s tiniest technology, with a thickness of only two atoms. According to the researchers, the new technology proposes a way for storing electric information in the thinnest unit known to science, in one of the most stable and inert materials in nature. The allowed

Osaka, Japan – A team of scientists led by the Department of Applied Physics at Osaka University, the Department of Physics and Electronics at Osaka Prefecture University, and the Department of Materials Chemistry at Nagoya University used photoinduced force microscopy to map out the forces acting on quantum dots in three dimensions. By eliminating sources

Natural wood remains a ubiquitous building material because of its high strength-to-density ratio; trees are strong enough to grow hundreds of feet tall but remain light enough to float down a river after being logged. For the past three years, engineers at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Engineering and Applied Science have been developing

A world-first sleep disorder diagnosis and monitoring trial will be conducted using invisible sensor technology developed at RMIT University. The trial is part of a new partnership between Australian research and technology company Sleeptite, RMIT and Flinders University. Researchers will test Sleeptite’s non-invasive sensor monitoring technology, REMi, and investigate its capability as a validation tool

IMAGE: A schematic diagram showing the observation of particles moving through a generic porous material. view more  Credit: Haichao Wu University of Colorado Boulder researchers have discovered that minuscule, self-propelled particles called “nanoswimmers” can escape from mazes as much as 20 times faster than other, passive particles, paving the way for their use in everything from

A process that uses heat to change the arrangement of molecular rings on a chemical chain creates 3D-printable gels with a variety of functional properties, according to a Dartmouth study. The researchers describe the new process as “kinetic trapping.” Molecular stoppers–or speed bumps–regulate the number of rings going onto a polymer chain and also control

IMAGE: STEM tomography image of a 3D-grown 100-200-nanometer crystalline disc grown from 3D gold-polystyrene polymer-grafted nanoparticles. view more  Credit: Berkeley Lab Crystallization is one of the most fundamental processes found in nature – and it’s what gives minerals, gems, metals, and even proteins their structure. In the past couple of decades, scientists have tried to uncover

The electronic properties of graphene can be specifically modified by stretching the material evenly, say researchers at the University of Basel. These results open the door to the development of new types of electronic components. Graphene consists of a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice. The material is very flexible and

Tel Aviv University’s groundbreaking technology may revolutionize the treatment of cancer and a wide range of diseases and medical conditions. In the framework of this study, the researchers were able to create a new method of transporting RNA-based drugs to a subpopulation of immune cells involved in the inflammation process, and target the disease-inflamed cell

IMAGE: An artist’s impression of a neural network (left) next to an optical micrograph of a physical nanowire network. view more  Credit: Adrian Diaz-Alvarez/NIMS Japan (for nanowire image) Scientists at the University of Sydney and Japan’s National Institute for Material Science (NIMS) have discovered that an artificial network of nanowires can be tuned to respond in

IMAGE: The fluorescent nanosensors respond to changes in pH, making them ideal for use as sensors to track healing. view more  Credit: RMIT University Researchers have developed smart wound dressings with built-in nanosensors that glow to alert patients when a wound is not healing properly. The multifunctional, antimicrobial dressings feature fluorescent sensors that glow brightly under

Cunjiang Yu, Bill D. Cook Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Houston, is reporting the development of a camera with a curvy, adaptable imaging sensor that could improve image quality in endoscopes, night-vision goggles, artificial compound eyes and fish-eye cameras. “Existing curvy imagers are either flexible but not compatible with tunable focal

Annapolis, MD; June 28, 2021–Drones keep getting smaller and smaller, while their potential applications keep getting bigger and bigger. And now unmanned aircraft systems are taking on some of the world’s biggest small problems: insect pests. From crop-munching caterpillars to disease-transmitting mosquitoes, insects that threaten crops, ecosystems, and public health are increasingly being targeted with

IMAGE: The incident light can be split into three independent beams, each with different properties — a conventional beam (right), a beam known as a Bessel beam (center) and an optical… view more  Credit: (Credit: Christina Spägele/Harvard SEAS) The ability to precisely control the various properties of laser light is critical to much of the technology

Deployable structures — objects that transition from a compact state to an expanded one — are used everywhere from backyards to Mars. But as anyone who has ever struggled to open an uncooperative folding chair knows, transforming two-dimensional forms into three-dimensional structures is sometimes a challenge. Now, researchers from the Harvard John A. Paulson School