Inspired by nature: biophysicist develops innovative microplastic filters

"Nature often provides the solution to problems that concern it" - without the example of the giant manta rays, research might not have come up with this idea at all

23-Oct-2024 - It's everywhere these days: Microplastics. In particular, it is transported through the air and water to the remotest corners of the earth. One of the big questions is: how can we prevent microplastics from entering our waters and thus the environment? One person who is very close to an answer is ...

Frozen in the spotlight: Scientists develop catalyst that turns off when illuminated

This first-of-its-kind smart catalyst could facilitate the synthesis of sophisticated chemicals and new modes of photolithography

17-Jan-2022 - Catalysts are compounds that enable and accelerate desired chemical reactions without themselves degrading and are pivotal in virtually all of applied chemistry. Over the past few decades, many researchers have sought to develop so-called ‘smart’ catalysts to facilitate the synthesis of ...

RNA Microchips

A new chapter in ribonucleic acid synthesis

08-Nov-2018 - Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is, along with DNA and protein, one of the three primary biological macromolecules and was probably the first to arise in early life forms. In the “RNA world” hypothesis, RNA is able to support life on its own because it can both store information and catalyze biochemical ...

New method promises easier nanoscale manufacturing

31-Jul-2017 - Scientists at the University of Chicago and Argonne National Laboratory have discovered a new way to precisely pattern nanomaterials that could open a new path to the next generation of everyday electronic devices. The new research is expected to make such materials easily available for eventual ...

Three magnetic states for each hole

06-Feb-2017 - Nanometer-scale magnetic perforated grids could create new possibilities for computing. Together with international colleagues, scientists from the Helmholtz Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) have shown how a cobalt grid can be reliably programmed at room temperature. In addition they discovered ...

A shampoo bottle that empties completely - every last drop

28-Jun-2016 - It's one of life's little annoyances: that last bit of shampoo that won't quite pour out of the bottle. Or the last bit of hand soap, or dish soap, or laundry detergent. Now researchers at The Ohio State University have found a way to create the perfect texture inside plastic bottles to let soap ...

New device uses carbon nanotubes to snag molecules

23-Dec-2015 - Engineers at MIT have devised a new technique for trapping hard-to-detect molecules, using forests of carbon nanotubes. The team modified a simple microfluidic channel with an array of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes -- rolled lattices of carbon atoms that resemble tiny tubes of chicken wire. ...

Origami meets chemistry in scholarly video-article

18-Feb-2013 - The nanotechnology research space is rapidly growing, with vast implications for the healthcare, consumer electronics, surveillance, and defense industries. However, a major limitation to this research is the ability to create particles that vary in shape and function on a micrometer or nanometer ...

'Instant acid' method offers new insight into nanoparticle dispersal in the environment and the body

11-Jun-2010 - Using a chemical trick that allows them to change the acidity of a solution almost instantly, a team at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has demonstrated a simple and effective technique for quantifying how the stability of nanoparticle solutions change when the acidity ...

An easy way to see the world's thinnest material

05-Jan-2010 - It's been used to dye the Chicago River green on St. Patrick's Day. It's been used to find latent blood stains at crime scenes. And now researchers at Northwestern University have used it to examine the thinnest material in the world. The useful tool is the dye fluorescein, and Jiaxing Huang, ...