Showing 20 articles starting at article 441
< Previous 20 articles Next 20 articles >
Categories: Engineering: Nanotechnology, Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology
Published Milestone: Miniature particle accelerator works



Particle accelerators are crucial tools in a wide variety of areas in industry, research and the medical sector. The space these machines require ranges from a few square meters to large research centers. Using lasers to accelerate electrons within a photonic nanostructure constitutes a microscopic alternative with the potential of generating significantly lower costs and making devices considerably less bulky. Until now, no substantial energy gains were demonstrated. In other words, it has not been shown that electrons really have increased in speed significantly. Two teams of laser physicists have just succeeded in demonstrating a nanophotonic electron accelerator.
Published Superlensing without a super lens: Physicists boost microscopes beyond limits



Attempts to break the diffraction limit with 'super lenses' have all hit the hurdle of extreme visual losses. Now physicists have shown a new pathway to achieve superlensing with minimal losses, breaking through the diffraction limit by a factor of nearly four times. The key to their success was to remove the super lens altogether.
Published Nanoparticle vaccine could curb cancer metastasis to lungs by targeting a protein



Engineers have developed an experimental vaccine that could prevent the spread of metastatic cancers to the lungs. Its success lies in targeting a protein known to play a central role in cancer growth and spread, rather than targeting the primary tumor itself.
Published Art with DNA -- Digitally creating 16 million colors by chemistry



The DNA double helix is composed of two DNA molecules whose sequences are complementary to each other. The stability of the duplex can be fine-tuned in the lab by controlling the amount and location of imperfect complementary sequences. Fluorescent markers bound to one of the matching DNA strands make the duplex visible, and fluorescence intensity increases with increasing duplex stability. Now, researchers have succeeded in creating fluorescent duplexes that can generate any of 16 million colors -- a work that surpasses the previous 256 colors limitation. This very large palette can be used to 'paint' with DNA and to accurately reproduce any digital image on a miniature 2D surface with 24-bit color depth.
Published Harnessing molecular power: Electricity generation on the nanoscale



Researchers tested a molecular energy harvesting device that captures the energy from the natural motion of molecules in a liquid. Their work showed molecular motion can be used to generate a stable electric current. To create the device, they submerged nanoarrays of piezoelectric material in liquid, allowing the movement of the liquid to move the strands like seaweed waving in the ocean, except in this case the movement is on the molecular scale, and the strands are made of zinc oxide. When the zinc oxide material waves, bends, or deforms under motion, it generates electric potential.
Published Extinct ape gets a facelift, 12 million years later



A new study has reconstructed the well-preserved but damaged skull of a great ape species that lived about 12 million years ago. The species, Pierolapithecus catalaunicus, may be crucial to understanding great ape and human evolution.
Published Surprising discovery shows electron beam radiation can repair nanostructures



In a surprising new study, researchers have found that the electron beam radiation that they previously thought degraded crystals can actually repair cracks in these nanostructures. The groundbreaking discovery provides a new pathway to create more perfect crystal nanostructures, a process that is critical to improving the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of materials that are used in virtually all electronic devices we use every day.
Published Mummified feces reveals pre-Columbian cultures of the Caribbean consumed a diversity of plants



DNA analysis of mummified feces reveals two pre-Columbian Caribbean cultures ate a wide variety of plants, like maize, sweet potato, and peanuts -- and tobacco and cotton traces were detected too, according to a new study.
Published Evolutionary secrets of 'Old Tom' and the killer whales of Eden revealed by genetic study



Evolutionary biologists have for the first time decoded the genetic lineage of a famous killer whale and a pod that once worked alongside whale hunters off the coast of Australia. In the Australian tradition of claiming New Zealand's celebrities as its own, Old Tom, the leader of a pod of killer whales that famously helped whalers hunt baleen whales in the 20th century, has ancestral links to modern-day killer whales in New Zealand, according to new DNA research. Old Tom also shared a common ancestor with killer whales from Australasia, the North Pacific, and North Atlantic Oceans, but is most similar to modern New Zealand killer whales. However, most of Tom's DNA code is not found in other killer whales globally suggesting that the killer whales of Eden may have become extinct locally.
Published Neanderthal gene variants associated with greater pain sensitivity



People who carry three gene variants that have been inherited from Neanderthals are more sensitive to some types of pain, according to a new study.
Published Ecotoxicity testing of micro- and nano-plastics



An international team of researchers has published the first harmonized exposure protocol for ecotoxicity testing of microplastics and nanoplastics.
Published Ginger pigment molecules found in fossil frogs


Palaeontologists discover molecular evidence of phaeomelanin, the pigment that produces ginger coloration. Phaeomelanin is now toxic to animals – this discovery may be first step in understand its evolution.
Published Oldest fossil human footprints in North America confirmed



New research reaffirms that human footprints found in White Sands National Park, NM, date to the Last Glacial Maximum, placing humans in North America thousands of years earlier than once thought. In September 2021, scientists announced that ancient human footprints discovered in White Sands National Park were between 21,000 and 23,000 years old. This discovery pushed the known date of human presence in North America back by thousands of years and implied that early inhabitants and megafauna co-existed for several millennia before the terminal Pleistocene extinction event. In a follow-up study, researchers used two new independent approaches to date the footprints, both of which resulted in the same age range as the original estimate.
Published The medicine of the future could be artificial life forms



Imagine a life form that doesn't resemble any of the organisms found on the tree of life. One that has its own unique control system, and that a doctor would want to send into your body. It sounds like a science fiction movie, but according to nanoscientists, it can—and should—happen in the future.
Published New research may make future design of nanotechnology safer with fewer side effects



A new study may offer a strategy that mitigates negative side effects associated with intravenous injection of nanoparticles commonly used in medicine.
Published New type of tiny wasp comes with mysterious, cloud-like structures at ends of antennae



Fossil researchers have discovered a novel genus and species of tiny wasp with a mysterious, bulbous structure at the end of each antenna.
Published Bioengineering breakthrough increases DNA detection sensitivity by 100 times



Researchers have pushed forward the boundaries of biomedical engineering one hundredfold with a new method for DNA detection with unprecedented sensitivity.
Published Wearable sensor to monitor 'last line of defense' antibiotic



Researchers have combined earlier work on painless microneedles with nanoscale sensors to create a wearable sensor patch capable of continuously monitoring the levels of a ‘last line of defense’ antibiotic.
Published Researchers dynamically tune friction in graphene



The friction on a graphene surface can be dynamically tuned using external electric fields, according to researchers.
Published 3D-printed plasmonic plastic enables large-scale optical sensor production



Researchers have developed plasmonic plastic -- a type of composite material with unique optical properties that can be 3D-printed. This research has now resulted in 3D-printed optical hydrogen sensors that could play an important role in the transition to green energy and industry.