Nanotechnology News – Latest Headlines

Ultra-tough fiber imitates the structure of spider silk (w/video)

A technology that heralds new high-performance composites.

Jun 3rd, 2015

How natural channel proteins move in artificial membranes

Natural channel proteins are integrated into artificial membranes to facilitate the transport of ions and molecules. Researchers have now been able to measure the movement of these channel proteins for the first time.

Jun 3rd, 2015

Nano-spirals could guard against identity theft

Take gold spirals about the size of a dime and shrink them down about six million times. The result is the world's smallest continuous spirals: 'nano-spirals' with unique optical properties that would be almost impossible to counterfeit if they were added to identity cards, currency and other important objects.

Jun 3rd, 2015

Visualizing the 'matrix' with an app

App provides insight into the quantum world of coupled nuclear spins.

Jun 3rd, 2015

Novel electronic phase of graphite in high magnetic fields

Researchers have shown that if you apply a strong magnetic field to the honeycomb lattice of carbon atoms in graphite, positive and negative charges form pairs, which may give rise to a superconducting-like state.

Jun 3rd, 2015

Nanocomposite coating reduces intensity of laser attacks on aircraft

Researchers have created a nanocoating for aircraft that reduces pilot distraction from laser attacks.

Jun 3rd, 2015

Surface-modified nanoparticles endow coatings with combined properties

Depending on which property is desired, the nanoparticles used can be surface modified with organic moieties. Small Molecule Surface Modification (SMSM) bestows specific combinations of desired properties, for example hydrophilic, hydrophobic, adhesive, anti-adhesive, acidic, basic, inert or polymerizable.

Jun 3rd, 2015

Transient melting of a nanocrystal: seeing is believing

Scientists have discovered a spectacular transient melting phenomenon in nanocrystals. Coherent X-ray diffraction experiments have allowed snapshot imaging of a single 300 nm gold nanocrystal in the picosecond time interval after the particle was excited with a laser. The crystal was found to expand uniformly following the excitation and to reach the melting point about 50 ps later.

Jun 3rd, 2015

New composite protects from corrosion at high mechanical stress

Material researchers will be presenting a composite material which prevents metal corrosion in an environmentally friendly way, even under extreme conditions. It can be used wherever metals are exposed to severe weather conditions, aggressive gases, media containing salt, heavy wear or high pressures.

Jun 3rd, 2015

Chain mail nano-coat made from synthetic DNA

DNA bundles transform into stable chain-armor-like nanostructures by copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne click chemistry.

Jun 2nd, 2015

Measuring the mass of molecules on the nanoscale

By observing the shift in eigenstates of coupled microcantilevers, researchers can measure nanogram-scale mass in a liquid environment with extreme accuracy.

Jun 2nd, 2015

Nanotechnology legal and regulatory frameworks in South-East Asia

Researchers in Malaysia are asking whether existing legal and regulatory frameworks in South-East Asia are robust enough to consider the safety issues surrounding nanotechnology.

Jun 2nd, 2015

Researchers simulate behavior of 'active matter'

Researchers have shed new light on a particular class of active matter called active colloids - collections of tiny moving particles suspended in fluid. Using numerical models and computer simulations, the researchers show how spinning particles, pushed about by the fluid flows created as each particle spins, can arrange themselves into an array of emergent macro-scale patterns.