SciFi Insight

IMAGE: 3D printable optical setup with built-in sample chamber for a FT-IR spectrometer. Sample is put on the Si ATR crystals for measurement. view more  Credit: ©M. Takahashi & K. Okada, Osaka Prefecture University “Any problem can be solved with a little ingenuity”. While they may not be the originators of this quote, recent work from

IMAGE: Image of quartz crystals under illumination with strong laser fields of different coloured light (red and blue), and both colours added together (middle). view more  Credit: Murat Sivis The surface of a material often has properties that are very different from the properties within the material. For example, a non-conducting crystal, which actually exhibits no

IMAGE: Controlling of brain state transitions using a molecule responsive to light. view more  Credit: IBEC/IDIBAPS The brain presents different states depending on the communication between billions of neurons, and this network is the basis of all our perceptions, memories, and behaviours. It is often considered a “black box”, with difficult access for clinicians and researchers,

TROY, N.Y. — Optoelectronic materials that are capable of converting the energy of light into electricity, and electricity into light, have promising applications as light-emitting, energy-harvesting, and sensing technologies. However, devices made of these materials are often plagued by inefficiency, losing significant useful energy as heat. To break the current limits of efficiency, new principles

IMAGE: Upon simultaneous excitation of the two chromophores by light the they repel each other through dipolar interactions. As the chromophores are bound to each other they start rotating about the… view more  Credit: Thomas Jansen, University of Groningen Light-driven molecular motors have been around for over twenty years. These motors typically take microseconds to nanoseconds

IMAGE: Operating principle of artificial intelligence nanopore for coronavirus detection. view more  Credit: Osaka University Osaka, Japan – A team of scientists headed by SANKEN (The Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research) at Osaka University demonstrated that single virus particles passing through a nanopore could be accurately identified using machine learning. The test platform they created

IMAGE: Illustration view more  Credit: Javier Marmolejo Researchers at the University of Gothenburg have observed the absorption of a single electron by a levitated droplet with such a magnification that it is visible with the naked eye and can even be measured with a normal millimeter scaled ruler. Matter in the universe is composed of elementary

Scientists have developed a new method that improves dispensing of viscoelastic fluids – a vital process for circuit board production, 3D printing and other industrial applications Viscoelastic fluids are difficult to dispense as liquid bridges that form between the substrate and nozzle must be broken New research has found that twisting these liquid bridges breaks

In a paper published in NANO, a team of researchers from Jiangnan University, China have prepared a convenient sensing platform which can detect microRNA-205 (MiR-205) with high sensitivity and excellent selectivity using TpTta-COF nanosheet and fluorescent oligonucleotide probes. Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a kind of malignant cancer derived from the epithelial cells, which shows an

IMAGE: Nanowire scaffolds for the screening of microRNAs from patient-derived tumor-organoid and urine in patients with central nervous system tumors view more  Credit: Takao Yasui & Atsushi Natsume A recent study by Nagoya University researchers revealed that microRNAs in urine could be a promising biomarker to diagnose brain tumors. Their findings, published in the journal ACS

IMAGE: Schematic of genetically engineered cell membrane-coated nanoparticles for drug delivery to inflamed lungs view more  Credit: Zhang Lab Nanoengineers at the University of California San Diego have developed immune cell-mimicking nanoparticles that target inflammation in the lungs and deliver drugs directly where they’re needed. As a proof of concept, the researchers filled the nanoparticles with

IMAGE: Lead author FLEET Research Fellow Dr Guolin Zheng view more  Credit: Guolin Zheng Magnetic-spin interactions that allow spin-manipulation by electrical control allow potential applications in energy-efficient spintronic devices. An antisymmetric exchange known as Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions (DMI) is vital to form various chiral spin textures, such as skyrmions, and permits their potential application in energy-efficient spintronic

While crop yield has achieved a substantial boost from nanotechnology in recent years, alarms over the health risks posed by nanoparticles within fresh produce and grains have also increased. In particular, nanoparticles entering the soil through irrigation, fertilizers and other sources have raised concerns about whether plants absorb these minute particles enough to cause toxicity.

IMAGE: Researchers from The University of Tokyo Institute of Industrial Science report colloidal spheres that can be used to determine the rotational dynamics of dense suspensions view more  Credit: Institute of Industrial Science, the University of Tokyo Tokyo, Japan – Colloids–mixtures of particles made from one substance, dispersed in another substance–crop up in numerous areas of