Nanotechnology World Research News http://www.nanotechnologyworld.co.uk Thu, 09 Sep 2010 05:09:25 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://www.nanotechnologyworld.co.uk/images/M_images/NTW.gif http://www.nanotechnologyworld.co.uk Nanotechnology World Research News http://www.nanotechnologyworld.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=604&Itemid=2 String-like connections found between T-cells could be important to how HIV spreads between cells in the human immune system, according to new research published online in Nature Cell Biology. The newly-discovered strands, named “membrane nanotubes” by scientists, could help to explain how the HIV virus infects human immune cells so quickly and effectively. Thu, 10 Jan 2008 17:37:59 +0100 http://www.nanotechnologyworld.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=599&Itemid=2 With inspiration from bacteria and butterflies, researchers at Stockholm University have developed a new method that shows how nanomaterials can be produced in the future. In an article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Professor Lennart Bergström shows how a glass bottle and a simple hobby magnet can be used to produce and arrange extremely small cubes of iron oxide in a perfectly checkered pattern. Thu, 01 Nov 2007 12:45:18 +0100 http://www.nanotechnologyworld.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=585&Itemid=2 By mimicking a brick-and-mortar molecular structure found in seashells, University of Michigan researchers created a composite plastic that’s as strong as steel but lighter and transparent. It’s made of layers of clay nanosheets and a water-soluble polymer that shares chemistry with white glue. Wed, 31 Oct 2007 15:44:44 +0100 http://www.nanotechnologyworld.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=576&Itemid=2 Dutch researcher Cristianne Rijcken has developed a new type of biodegradable nanoparticle. The spherical structures can encapsulate various fat-soluble medicines, which makes it easier to target tumour tissue. These nanoballs are highly promising carriers for the controlled release of anticancer drugs. Rijcken recently gained her doctorate for this research from Utrecht University. Fri, 26 Oct 2007 09:54:26 +0100 http://www.nanotechnologyworld.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=572&Itemid=2 The National Science Foundation has awarded grants totaling more than $1.5M to Oklahoma State University scientists for the acquisition and/or development of highly-specialised instruments used in research activities on campus and at Venture I in the Oklahoma Technology and Research Park. OSU submitted three proposals, the maximum number allowed by any one university, in the NSF Major Research Instrumentation competition and received grants for all three projects. Commenting on the awards, Stephen W.S. McKeever, vice president for research and technology transfer, said these instruments will greatly enhance OSU’s research capabilities in areas of interest to industry, government and other universities.... Fri, 21 Sep 2007 17:08:17 +0100 http://www.nanotechnologyworld.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=570&Itemid=2 Using DNA, the molecule that carries life’s genetic instructions, researchers at the US Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory are studying how to control both the speed of nanoparticle assembly and the structure of its resulting nanoclusters. Learning how to control and tailor the assembly of nanoparticles, which have dimensions on the order of billionths of a metre, could potentially lead to applications ranging from more efficient energy generation and data storage to cell-targeted systems for drug delivery. Mathew Maye, a chemist in Brookhaven’s newly opened Centre for Functional Nanomaterials, will present the latest findings in this field at the... Thu, 20 Sep 2007 15:52:59 +0100 http://www.nanotechnologyworld.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=569&Itemid=2 Scientists are working to produce cheap, sustainable solar energy by imitating nature. Nanotechnology researchers like California Institute of Technology professor Nate Lewis are exploring nanoscale materials that mimic the architecture of grass and photosynthesis to capture and store the sun’s energy. Thu, 20 Sep 2007 15:48:37 +0100 http://www.nanotechnologyworld.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=565&Itemid=2 Scientists report they have merged two of nature’s most elegant strategies for wet and dry adhesion to produce a synthetic material that one day could lead to more durable and longer-lasting bandages, patches, and surgical materials. As published in this week’s issue of the journal Nature, the scientists, supported by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), part of the National Institutes of Health, have designed a synthetic material that starts with the dry adhesive properties of the gecko lizard and supplements it with the underwater adhesive properties of a mussel. The hybrid material, which they call a... Thu, 16 Aug 2007 17:05:46 +0100 http://www.nanotechnologyworld.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=564&Itemid=2 Researchers at New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) have developed an inexpensive solar cell that can be painted or printed on flexible plastic sheets. “The process is simple,” said lead researcher and author Somenath Mitra, PhD, professor and acting chair of NJIT’s Department of Chemistry and Environmental Sciences. “Someday homeowners will even be able to print sheets of these solar cells with inexpensive home-based inkjet printers. Consumers can then slap the finished product on a wall, roof or billboard to create their own power stations.” Thu, 16 Aug 2007 16:35:11 +0100 http://www.nanotechnologyworld.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=559&Itemid=2 Researchers from the University of Delaware and Washington University in St Louis have figured out how to train synthetic polymer molecules to self-assemble and form into long, multicompartment cylinders 1000 times thinner than a human hair, with potential uses in radiology, signal communication and the delivery of therapeutic drugs in the human body. Tue, 07 Aug 2007 10:27:39 +0100 http://www.nanotechnologyworld.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=554&Itemid=2 Researchers at UCLA have successfully manipulated nanomaterials to create a new drug-delivery system that promises to solve the challenge of the poor water solubility of today’s most promising anticancer drugs and thereby increase their effectiveness. Thu, 07 Jun 2007 15:25:54 +0100 http://www.nanotechnologyworld.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=548&Itemid=2 A University of Alberta research team has combined two fields of study in nanotechnology to create a third field that researchers believe will lead to revolutionary advances in computer electronics, among many other areas. Dr Abdulhakem Elezzabi and his colleagues have applied plasmonics principles to spintronics technology and created a novel way to control the quantum state of an electron’s spin. Tue, 05 Jun 2007 10:14:16 +0100 http://www.nanotechnologyworld.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=545&Itemid=2 Chemical engineers from the University at Buffalo have collaborated with scientists from other institutions to solve a critical bottleneck in the transport and capture of virus nanoparticles, making possible a device that could rapidly sample and detect infectious biological agents, such as viruses. Thu, 03 May 2007 14:59:57 +0100 http://www.nanotechnologyworld.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=543&Itemid=2 Researchers have taken advantage of the unique coupled semiconducting and piezoelectric properties of zinc oxide nanowires to create a new class of electronic components and devices that could provide the foundation for a broad range of new applications. Wed, 07 Mar 2007 17:28:39 +0100 http://www.nanotechnologyworld.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=542&Itemid=2 Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) cell-stretcher that can measure the mechanical properties of a living cell, such as its ability to stick to a surface. The new device is expected to enable novel studies of cell mechanics, which influence basic cell functions such as growth and division, and diseases such as sickle cell anaemia and asthma. Wed, 07 Mar 2007 17:08:40 +0100 http://www.nanotechnologyworld.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=541&Itemid=2 Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have demonstrated a prototype nanoscale electronic switch that works like lightning—except for the speed. Their proof-of-concept experiments demonstrate that nanoscale electrical switches can be built from self-assembled layers of organic molecules on silver wires. Potential applications range from a replacement technology for magnetic data storage to integrated circuit memory devices. Wed, 07 Mar 2007 16:54:17 +0100 http://www.nanotechnologyworld.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=538&Itemid=2 University of Kentucky researcher, David Yurek, was recently awarded $66,000 by The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF) under the foundation’s Rapid Response Innovation Awards programme. The goal of this newly-launched initiative is to move quickly to support innovative research focused on the cause of and cure for Parkinson’s disease (PD). In particular, MJFF seeks to fund high-risk, high-reward projects tackling critical scientific roadblocks that, if successful, can open new avenues for PD therapy development. Tue, 06 Mar 2007 12:20:00 +0100 http://www.nanotechnologyworld.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=534&Itemid=2 Researchers at the US Department of Energy rsqo;s Argonne National Laboratory have developed an advanced concept in nanoscale catalyst engineering—a combination of experiments and simulations that will bring polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells for hydrogen-powered vehicles closer to massive commercialisation. Tue, 06 Mar 2007 09:53:44 +0100 http://www.nanotechnologyworld.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=533&Itemid=2 Researchers at the Max Born Institute for Nonlinear Optics and Short Pulse Spectroscopy (MBI) in Berlin, Germany, have developed a novel source of extremely short electron pulses. Wed, 31 Jan 2007 13:57:02 +0100 http://www.nanotechnologyworld.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=532&Itemid=2 A team of researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has created hybrid structures that combine the best properties of carbon nanotubes and metal nanowires. The new structures, which are described in a recent issue of Applied Physics Letters (http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.2405390), could help overcome some of the key hurdles to using carbon nanotubes in computer chips, displays, sensors, and many other electronic devices. Wed, 17 Jan 2007 17:20:36 +0100