Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

Crystallization as the driving force      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists have successfully developed nanomaterials using a so-called bottom-up approach. They exploit the fact that crystals often grow in a specific direction during crystallization. These resulting nanostructures, which appear as 'worm-like and decorated rods,' could be used in various technological applications.

Energy: Technology Engineering: Nanotechnology Environmental: General Environmental: Water Physics: General
Published

Nanofluidic device generates power with saltwater      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

There is a largely untapped energy source along the world's coastlines: the difference in salinity between seawater and freshwater. A new nanodevice can harness this difference to generate power.

Biology: Evolutionary Biology: Zoology Ecology: Nature Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds
Published

Researchers' analysis of perching birds points to new answers in evolutionary diversification      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

When Charles Darwin traveled to the Galapagos Islands almost 200 years ago as a gentleman naturalist, he used the power of observation to develop his theory that species evolve over time.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Microbiology Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Engineering: Nanotechnology Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Nanoparticles made from plant viruses could be farmers' new ally in pest control      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Engineers have devised a new solution to control a major agricultural menace, root-damaging nematodes. Using plant viruses, the researchers created nanoparticles that can deliver pesticide molecules to previously inaccessible depths in the soil. This 'precision farming' approach could potentially minimize environmental toxicity and cut costs for farmers.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

Scaling up the power of nanotechnology      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers created a proof of concept of a nanocapsule -- a microscopic container -- capable of delivering a specific 'payload' to a targeted location. While beyond the scope of this study, the discovery could one day impact how drugs, nutrients and other types of chemical compounds are delivered within humans or plants.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Engineering: Graphene Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

Making contact: Researchers wire up individual graphene nanoribbons      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have developed a method of 'wiring up' graphene nanoribbons (GNRs), a class of one-dimensional materials that are of interest in the scaling of microelectronic devices. Using a direct-write scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) based process, the nanometer-scale metal contacts were fabricated on individual GNRs and could control the electronic character of the GNRs. The researchers say that this is the first demonstration of making metal contacts to specific GNRs with certainty and that those contacts induce device functionality needed for transistor function.

Engineering: Nanotechnology Physics: General
Published

Stabilizing precipitate growth at grain boundaries in alloys      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Materials are often considered to be one phase, but many engineering materials contain two or more phases, improving their properties and performance. These two-phase materials have inclusions, called precipitates, embedded in the microstructure. Alloys, a combination of two or more types of metals, are used in many applications, like turbines for jet engines and light-weight alloys for automotive applications, because they have very good mechanical properties due to those embedded precipitates. The average precipitate size, however, tends to increase over time-in a process called coarsening-which results in a degradation of performance for microstructures with nanoscale precipitates.

Energy: Alternative Fuels Energy: Technology Engineering: Nanotechnology Environmental: General
Published

Efficient next-generation solar panels on horizon following breakthrough      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A scientific breakthrough brings mass production of the next generation of cheaper and lighter perovskite solar cells one step closer.

Chemistry: Thermodynamics Energy: Alternative Fuels Engineering: Nanotechnology Physics: Optics
Published

Chameleon-inspired coating could cool and warm buildings through the seasons      (via sciencedaily.com) 

As summer turns to fall, many people will be turning off the air conditioning and firing up heaters instead. But traditional heating and cooling systems are energy intensive, and because they typically run on fossil fuels, they aren't sustainable. Now, by mimicking a desert-dwelling chameleon, a team has developed an energy-efficient, cost-effective coating. The material could keep buildings cool in the summers -- or warm in the winters -- without additional energy.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

Precisely arranging nanoparticles      (via sciencedaily.com) 

In the incredibly small world of molecules, the elementary building blocks -- the atoms -- join together in a very regular pattern. In contrast, in the macroscopic world with its larger particles, there is much greater disorder when particles connect. A research team has now succeeded in achieving the same precise arrangement of atoms shown in molecules, but using nanometer-sized particles, known as 'plasmonic molecules' -- combinations of nanoscale metallic structures that have unique properties.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Extinction Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

RNA for the first time recovered from an extinct species      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study shows the isolation and sequencing of more than a century-old RNA molecules from a Tasmanian tiger specimen preserved at room temperature in a museum collection. This resulted in the reconstruction of skin and skeletal muscle transcriptomes from an extinct species for the first time. The researchers note that their findings have relevant implications for international efforts to resurrect extinct species, including both the Tasmanian tiger and the woolly mammoth, as well as for studying pandemic RNA viruses.

Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

Research identifies new potential hurdle for nano-based therapies      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have discovered that certain nano-based cancer therapies may be less effective in younger patients, highlighting the need for further investigation into the impact of aging on the body's ability to respond to treatment. The researchers found age-related differences are due to how effectively the liver filters the bloodstream. Younger livers are more efficient at this process, which helps limit toxins in the blood but also filters out beneficial treatments, potentially rendering them ineffective.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

Tiny nanocarriers could prove the magic bullet for acne sufferers      (via sciencedaily.com) 

It's a skin disorder that makes life miserable for around 800 million teenagers and adults worldwide, but cientists may have found an effective treatment for acne, delivered via tiny nanoparticles.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Energy: Batteries Engineering: Nanotechnology Environmental: General Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Pixel-by-pixel analysis yields insights into lithium-ion batteries      (via sciencedaily.com) 

By mining X-ray images, researchers have made significant new discoveries about the reactivity of lithium iron phosphate, a material used in batteries for electric cars and in other rechargeable batteries.

Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Microbiology Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

Ultrathin nanotech promises to help tackle antibiotic resistance      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have invented a nano-thin superbug-slaying material that could one day be integrated into wound dressings and implants to prevent or heal bacterial infections. The innovation -- which has undergone advanced pre-clinical trials -- is effective against a broad range of drug-resistant bacterial cells, including 'golden staph', which are commonly referred to as superbugs.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology Physics: General Physics: Optics
Published

Atomic-scale spin-optical laser: New horizon of optoelectronic devices      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have pushed the limits of the possible in the field of atomic-scale spin-optics, creating a spin-optical laser from monolayer-integrated spin-valley microcavities without requiring magnetic fields or cryogenic temperatures.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Computer Science: Quantum Computers Engineering: Nanotechnology Physics: General Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

Atomically-precise quantum antidots via vacancy self-assembly      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists demonstrated a conceptual breakthrough by fabricating atomically precise quantum antidots using self-assembled single vacancies in a two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenide.

Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: Genetics Biology: Marine Ecology: Animals Ecology: Sea Life Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: General
Published

Mutation rates in whales are much higher than previously reported      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An international team of marine scientists has studied the DNA of family groups from four different whale species to estimate their mutation rates. Using the newly determined rates, the group found that the number of humpback whales in the North Atlantic before whaling was 86 percent lower than earlier studies suggested.