Single-walled carbon nanotubes, SWNTs are the focus of much research aimed at building sophisticated nanoscopic structures for future electronic and spintronic devices.
23 January, 2010
At long last there is experimental evidence that magnetic charges exist and that they have measurable currents or magnetricity, just like an electric charge [Bramwell et al., Nature (2009) 461, 956].
13 January, 2010
Could nanotechnology be the key to developing an interface between nerve cells and microelectronic circuitry? US scientists have recently demonstrated that signals can be recorded from rat neurons using conducting polymer nanotubes. The research carried out at the University of Michigan might one day help in the development of sensors and treatments for neurological disorders including Parkinson's disease and paralysis.
13 January, 2010
A team of scientists at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH Zurich, www.ethz.ch), Switzerland, has developed an innovative biodegradable metallic glass that might one day replace the metal implants currently used to repair bone fractures [Zberg et al., doi:10.1038/nmat2542]. The new material would make it unnecessary to undergo a second implant-removal surgery; it would also eliminate the side-effects of permanent implants by dissolving into the body, once the healing process of the bones has been achieved.
13 January, 2010
New research has shown how graphene-like structures designed on the nanoscale level – geodesic systems shaped like the Eden Project building in Cornwall, UK – could be used as building blocks for a new generation of electronic circuits, giving rise to faster computers, or mobile phones that send data at much higher rates.
13 January, 2010
A novel type of hard X-ray interferometer employing a bilens system with two parallel arrays of compound refractive lenses has been developed by scientists from France and Russia. Under coherent illumination, the bilens generates two diffraction limited mutually coherent beams. When the beams overlap they produce an interference pattern with a fringe spacing ranging from tens of nanometres to tens of micrometres.
13 January, 2010
Rice University scientists today unveiled a method for the industrial-scale processing of pure carbon-nanotube fibers that could lead to revolutionary advances in materials science, power distribution and nanoelectronics [Rice et al., Nature nanotech. (2009) doi:10.1038/nnano.2009.302]. The result of a nine-year program, the method builds upon tried-and-true processes that chemical firms have used for decades to produce plastics.
13 January, 2010
Researchers from Harvard University in Massachusetts have devised a method to study non-fluorescent molecules using a technique called stimulated emission microscopy, an approach based upon a phenomenon first described by Albert Einstein in 1917 [Min et al., Nature (2009) 461, 1105].
13 January, 2010
New research has demonstrated how a blend of polymers and nanoparticles that react to different stimuli, such as heat and light, can be made by adding small molecules to the mixture. This straightforward approach could be a key development in applying such materials industrially, and could have potential for energy harvesting and storage, as well as optical devices and catalysis.
13 January, 2010
Scientists have discovered a technique for using artificial cells to explore the function of molecules in actual biological cells. The new approach can help the measurement of biological systems and show how cell nanomachinery interacts within cells, which could have a major impact in the development of new medical procedures and drug discovery.
13 January, 2010
Danish nanophysicists have developed a new method for manufacturing nanowires. The discovery has great potential for the development of nanoelectronics and highly efficient solar cells. [Krogstrup, et al., Nano Lett. (2009) doi: 10.1021/n1901348d]
13 January, 2010
A magnetic charge can behave and interact just like an electric charge in some materials, according to new research led by the London Centre for Nanotechnology which could lead to a reassessment of current magnetism theories, as well as significant technological advances.
05 January, 2010