http://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. (PhysOrg.com) -- For the past few years, researchers have been using quantum dots to increase the light absorption and overall efficiency of solar cells. Now, researchers have taken a step further, demonstrating that quantum dots with a built-in electric charge can increase the efficiency of InAs/GaAs quantum dot solar cells by 50% or more. http://phys.org/news224489989.html Nanotechnology Fri, 13 May 2011 07:50:01 EST news224489989 (PhysOrg.com) -- Almost since computing began, scientists and technologists have been fascinated with the idea of a computer that works similarly to the human brain. In 2008, the first "memristor" was built, a device that is designed to behave in a manner that mimics the junctions betweens the neurons in the brain. However, until recently, the memristor was just a device. Now a group at the University of Michigan, led by Wei Lu, has demonstrated that the memristor can actually be used in computing. Their findings were published in Nano Letters: "Nanoscale Memristor Device as Synapse in Neuromorphic Systems." http://phys.org/news188041906.html Nanotechnology Wed, 17 Mar 2010 10:52:12 EST news188041906 (PhysOrg.com) -- Engineers from the University of Cincinnati devise a foam that captures energy and removes excess carbon dioxide from the air -- thanks to semi-tropical frogs. http://phys.org/news187951045.html Nanotechnology Tue, 16 Mar 2010 09:37:57 EST news187951045 Calculations are fine, but seeing is believing. That's the thought behind a new paper by Rice University students who decided to put to the test calculations made more than a century ago. http://phys.org/news187676491.html Nanotechnology Sat, 13 Mar 2010 04:22:19 EST news187676491 Scientists have leaped over a major hurdle in efforts to begin commercial production of a form of carbon that could rival silicon in its potential for revolutionizing electronics devices ranging from supercomputers to cell phones. Called graphene, the material consists of a layer of graphite 50,000 times thinner than a human hair with unique electronic properties. Their study appears in ACS' Nano Letters. http://phys.org/news187448260.html Nanotechnology Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:10:01 EST news187448260 (PhysOrg.com) -- A study published in the American Chemical Society's journal Nano Letters reveals that thermocells based on carbon nanotube electrodes might eventually be used for generating electrical energy from heat discarded by chemical plants, automobiles and solar cell farms. http://phys.org/news186769267.html Nanotechnology Tue, 02 Mar 2010 16:21:31 EST news186769267 (PhysOrg.com) -- A study published in the American Chemical Society's journal Nano Letters reveals that thermocells based on carbon nanotube electrodes might eventually be used for generating electrical energy from heat discarded by chemical plants, automobiles and solar cell farms. Dr. Ray Baughman, director of the Alan G. MacDiarmid NanoTech Institute, collaborated with an international team of researchers on the findings. http://phys.org/news186409698.html Nanotechnology Fri, 26 Feb 2010 12:28:49 EST news186409698 (PhysOrg.com) -- The first glimpse of miniscule air bubbles that keep water from wetting a super non-stick surface could lead to new super-slick materials with applications in energy, medicine, and more. http://phys.org/news186258885.html Nanotechnology Wed, 24 Feb 2010 18:35:23 EST news186258885 Scientists are reporting an advance toward scavenging energy from walking, breathing, and other natural body movements to power electronic devices like cell phones and heart pacemakers. In a study in ACS' Nano Letters, they describe development of flexible, biocompatible rubber films for use in implantable or wearable energy harvesting systems. The material could be used, for instance, to harvest energy from the motion of the lungs during breathing and use it to run pacemakers without the need for batteries that must be surgically replaced every few years. http://phys.org/news186246669.html Nanotechnology Wed, 24 Feb 2010 15:12:00 EST news186246669 As efforts such as The Cancer Genome Atlas and others generate vast quantities of information about the genetic makeup of different types of cancer, it is becoming increasingly clear that such information has great potential for determining which anticancer drugs should be used to treat a specific patient. However, realizing that potential will require not only that cancer researchers uncover the links between specific gene changes in a given tumor and that tumor's response to a specific drug therapy, but that technologists develop faster methods of detecting specific mutations that would be economical to use on individual patients. http://phys.org/news185803228.html Nanotechnology Fri, 19 Feb 2010 12:30:02 EST news185803228 A Northwestern University study shows that coupling a widely used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agent to a nanodiamond results in dramatically enhanced signal intensity and thus vivid image contrast. "The results are a leap and not a small one -- it is a game-changing event for sensitivity," said Thomas Meade, who led the Northwestern research team and is a member of the Nanomaterials for Cancer Diagnostics and Therapeutics Center for Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence. "This is an imaging agent on steroids. The complex is far more sensitive than anything else I've seen." http://phys.org/news185737514.html Nanotechnology Thu, 18 Feb 2010 17:45:45 EST news185737514 A tiny scaffold-like titanium structure of Nanonets coated with silicon particles could pave the way for faster, lighter and longer-lasting Lithium-ion batteries, according to a team of Boston College chemists who developed the new anode material using nanotechnology. http://phys.org/news185542476.html Nanotechnology Tue, 16 Feb 2010 11:35:05 EST news185542476 (PhysOrg.com) -- In research that gives literal meaning to the term "power suit," University of California, Berkeley, engineers have created energy-scavenging nanofibers that could one day be woven into clothing and textiles. http://phys.org/news185204588.html Nanotechnology Fri, 12 Feb 2010 13:43:30 EST news185204588 Arizona State University scientists have come up with a new twist in their efforts to develop a faster and cheaper way to read the DNA genetic code. They have developed the first, versatile DNA reader that can discriminate between DNA's four core chemical components⎯the key to unlocking the vital code behind human heredity and health. http://phys.org/news185129971.html Nanotechnology Thu, 11 Feb 2010 17:00:03 EST news185129971 Power-generating rubber films developed by Princeton University engineers could harness natural body movements such as breathing and walking to power pacemakers, mobile phones and other electronic devices. http://phys.org/news183832835.html Nanotechnology Wed, 27 Jan 2010 16:41:02 EST news183832835 (PhysOrg.com) -- Researcher Derek Stewart says the mineral kotoite could be an ideal insulator for memory storage devices called magnetic tunnel junctions. http://phys.org/news183316261.html Nanotechnology Thu, 21 Jan 2010 17:11:40 EST news183316261 Could powering an iPod or cell phone become as easy as plugging it into your tee shirt or jeans, and then recharging the clothing overnight? Scientists in California are reporting an advance in that direction with an easier way of changing ordinary cotton and polyester into "conductive energy textiles" -- e-Textiles that double as a rechargeable battery. Their report on the research appears in ACS' Nano Letters. http://phys.org/news183214328.html Nanotechnology Wed, 20 Jan 2010 12:52:25 EST news183214328 (PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers have found a new use for graphene, the single-atom-thick sheet of carbon atoms that resembles chicken wire. Ever since graphene was first observed in 2004, its large surface area, excellent mechanical strength, and high electrical conductivity have intrigued scientists and opened up new areas of exploration. http://phys.org/news183109383.html Nanotechnology Tue, 19 Jan 2010 09:20:01 EST news183109383 A Northwestern University study shows that coupling a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agent to a nanodiamond results in dramatically enhanced signal intensity and thus vivid image contrast. http://phys.org/news182699061.html Nanotechnology Thu, 14 Jan 2010 13:44:50 EST news182699061 (PhysOrg.com) -- A strip of paper infused with carbon nanotubes can quickly and inexpensively detect a toxin produced by algae in drinking water. Engineers at the University of Michigan led the development of the new biosensor. http://phys.org/news182186839.html Nanotechnology Fri, 08 Jan 2010 15:27:45 EST news182186839 A single-atom-thick sheet of carbon, like those seen in pencil marks -- offers great potential for new types of nanoscale devices, if a good way can be found to mold the material into desired shapes. http://phys.org/news180256587.html Nanotechnology Thu, 17 Dec 2009 07:18:00 EST news180256587 (PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers from Helsinki University of Technology (Finland), University of New South Wales (Australia), and University of Melbourne (Australia) have succeeded in building a working transistor, whose active region composes only of a single phosphorus atom in silicon. The results have just been published in Nano Letters. http://phys.org/news179331125.html Nanotechnology Sun, 06 Dec 2009 14:16:01 EST news179331125 (PhysOrg.com) -- A Cornell research team has invented a simple way to make graphene electrical devices by growing the graphene directly onto a silicon wafer. http://phys.org/news177062908.html Nanotechnology Tue, 10 Nov 2009 08:10:01 EST news177062908 Many medical conditions, such as cancer, diabetes and chronic pain, require medications that cannot be taken orally, but must be dosed intermittently, on an as-needed basis, over a long period of time. A few delivery techniques have been developed, using an implanted heat source, an implanted electronic chip or other stimuli as an "on-off" switch to release the drugs into the body. But thus far, none of these methods can reliably do all that's needed: repeatedly turn dosing on and off, deliver consistent doses and adjust doses according to the patient's need. But now, a research team led by Daniel Kohane of Children's Hospital Boston has devised a solution that combines magnetism with nanotechnology. http://phys.org/news176116233.html Nanotechnology Fri, 30 Oct 2009 10:11:06 EST news176116233 The biological safety of nanotechnology, in other words, how the body reacts to nanoparticles, is a hot topic. Researchers at Lund University in Sweden have managed for the first time to carry out successful experiments involving the injection of so-called 'nanowires.' http://phys.org/news175425344.html Nanotechnology Thu, 22 Oct 2009 10:30:01 EST news175425344 Imagine a gift wrapped in paper you really do treasure and want to carefully fold and save. That's because the wrapping paper lights up with words like "Happy Birthday" or "Happy Holidays," thanks to a built in battery -- an amazing battery made out of paper. That's one potential application of a new battery made of cellulose, the stuff of paper, being described in the October 14 issue of ACS' Nano Letters. http://phys.org/news172932619.html Nanotechnology Wed, 23 Sep 2009 13:50:50 EST news172932619 (PhysOrg.com) -- Many medical conditions, such as chronic pain, cancer and diabetes, require medications that cannot be taken orally, but must be dosed intermittently, on an as-needed basis, over a long period of time. A few delivery techniques have been developed, using an implanted heat source, an implanted electronic chip or other stimuli as an "on-off" switch to release the drugs into the body. But thus far, none of these methods can reliably do all that's needed: repeatedly turn dosing on and off, deliver consistent doses and adjust doses according to the patient's need. http://phys.org/news172486374.html Nanotechnology Fri, 18 Sep 2009 10:40:01 EST news172486374 Researchers from Brigham Young University found how to shape customized segments of DNA into tiny letters that spell "BYU." This new method of DNA origami will appear in the aptly titled journal Nano Letters. http://phys.org/news172313885.html Nanotechnology Wed, 16 Sep 2009 09:58:28 EST news172313885 (PhysOrg.com) -- Unwanted blooms of Cladophora algae throughout the Baltic and in other parts of the world are not entirely without a positive side. A group of researchers at the Angstrom Laboratory at Uppsala University have discovered that the distinctive cellulose nanostructure of these algae can serve as an effective coating substrate for use in environmentally friendly batteries. The findings have been published in an article in Nano Letters. http://phys.org/news171807013.html Nanotechnology Thu, 10 Sep 2009 13:40:01 EST news171807013 In a development that holds much promise for the future of solar cells made from nanocrystals, and the use of solar energy to produce clean and renewable liquid transportation fuels, researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have reported a technique by which the electrical conductivity of nanorod crystals of the semiconductor cadmium-selenide was increased 100,000 times. http://phys.org/news171796742.html Nanotechnology Thu, 10 Sep 2009 10:19:35 EST news171796742