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. Seeing the fine-scale properties of materials relevant to nanotechnology is a prominent challenge that currently can be met only under ideal conditions. Coherent X-ray imaging promises to greatly expand the range of materials and environments in which these important properties can be observed. Users from Argonne's Materials Science and Nanoscience & Technology divisions, in collaboration with the X-Ray Microscopy Group at the Center for Nanoscale Materials and researchers from the Advanced Photon Source, KAIST, Northern Illinois University, and the University of Melbourne, have reported the development of a new X-ray imaging technique, coherent X-ray Bragg projection ptychography, and its application to the study of nanoscale structures in ferroelectric thin films. http://phys.org/news287135825.html Nanotechnology Tue, 07 May 2013 09:20:01 EST news287135825 (Phys.org) —Using computer models, a graduate student at the University of Arkansas has collaborated with scientists in the United States and Europe to observe a new magnetic state of bismuth ferrite. http://phys.org/news286608717.html Physics Wed, 01 May 2013 06:32:11 EST news286608717 (Phys.org) —Researchers at TU Delft in the Netherlands have managed to bring two electrons, three meters from each other, into a quantum- entangled state. This result marks a major step towards realizing a quantum network that can be used to connect future quantum computers and to send information in a completely secure way by means of 'teleportation'. The results have been published online on April 24 in Nature. http://phys.org/news286048535.html Physics Wed, 24 Apr 2013 18:55:43 EST news286048535 (Phys.org)—Proteins are able to self-assemble into a wide range of highly ordered structures that feature a diverse array of properties. Through biomimicry - technological innovation inspired by nature – humans hope to emulate proteins and produce our own version of self-assembling molecules. A key to accomplishing this is understanding how protein-folding – a process critical to the form and function of a protein – is extended from individual proteins to complex assemblies. http://phys.org/news270921258.html Nanotechnology Wed, 31 Oct 2012 16:54:33 EST news270921258 Scientists at CRANN, the nanoscience institute based at Trinity College Dublin, have partnered with world-leading brewing company SABMiller on a project to increase the shelf life of bottled beer in plastic bottles. The new deal will see SABMiller invest in the project over a two year period.  http://phys.org/news267207591.html Chemistry Tue, 18 Sep 2012 17:20:07 EST news267207591 If you take hold of a DNA molecule and twist it, this creates 'supercoils', which are a bit like those annoying loops and twists you get in earphone cables. Research carried out by TU Delft, The Netherlands, has found that in the DNA molecule these coils can make their way surprisingly quickly along the length of the DNA. This newly discovered 'hopping' mechanism - which takes places in a matter of milliseconds - could have important biological implications, because cells use the coils to bring specific pieces of DNA into contact with one another. The researchers from Cees Dekker's group at the Kavli Institute of Nanoscience in Delft will be publishing their results in Science this week. http://phys.org/news266826354.html Biology Fri, 14 Sep 2012 07:26:15 EST news266826354 (Phys.org)—Material properties and interactions are largely determined by the binding and unbinding of their constituent molecules, but the standard model used to interpret data on the formation and rupturing of molecular bonds suffers from inconsistencies. A collaboration of researchers led by a scientist at the U.S Department of Energy (DOE)'s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has developed a first-of-its-kind model for providing a comprehensive description of the way in which molecular bonds form and rupture. This model enables researchers to predict the "binding free energy" of a given molecular system, which is key to predicting how that molecule will interact with other molecules. http://phys.org/news266140161.html Chemistry Thu, 06 Sep 2012 08:49:33 EST news266140161 A team led by scientists at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have made the first-ever mechanical device that can measure the mass of individual molecules one at a time. http://phys.org/news265182134.html Physics Sun, 26 Aug 2012 13:00:12 EST news265182134 Berkeley Lab researchers have reported the first direct observation of nanoparticles undergoing oriented attachment, the critical step in biomineralization and the growth of nanocrystals. A better understanding of oriented attachment in nanoparticles is a key to synthesizing new materials with remarkable structural properties. http://phys.org/news257080715.html Nanotechnology Thu, 24 May 2012 14:00:14 EST news257080715 A protocol for controlling quantum information pioneered by researchers at UC Santa Barbara, the Kavli Institute of Nanoscience in Delft, the Netherlands, and the Ames Laboratory at Iowa State University could open the door to larger-scale, more accurate quantum computations. Their findings, in a paper titled "Decoherence-protected quantum gates for a hybrid solid-state spin register," are published in the current issue of the journal Nature. http://phys.org/news252778016.html Physics Wed, 04 Apr 2012 17:07:16 EST news252778016 (AP) -- Sir Paul Callaghan, a top New Zealand scientist who gained international recognition for his work in molecular physics, has died after a long battle with bowel cancer. He was 64. http://phys.org/news251788920.html Physics Sat, 24 Mar 2012 06:22:28 EST news251788920 Imagine a test that sifts through millions of molecules in a drop of a patient's blood to detect a telltale protein signature of a cancer subtype, or a drug ferry that doesn't release its toxic contents until it slips inside cancer cells. http://phys.org/news250956164.html Nanotechnology Wed, 14 Mar 2012 15:03:00 EST news250956164 A group of scientists from the University of Gothenburg and the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Sweden, have become the first group in the world to demonstrate that theories about nanoscale spin waves agree with observations. This opens the way to replacing microwave technology in many applications, such as mobile phones and wireless networks, by components that are much smaller, cheaper, and that require less resources. The study has been published in the scientific journal Nature Nanotechnology, the most prestigious journal in nanoscience. http://phys.org/news234620293.html Nanotechnology Wed, 07 Sep 2011 13:18:26 EST news234620293 An automatic and portable detector that takes just fifteen minutes to analyze a sample suspected of contamination with anthrax is being developed by US researchers. The technology amplifies any anthrax DNA present in the sample and can reveal the presence of just 40 microscopic cells of the deadly bacteria Bacillus anthracis. http://phys.org/news229183268.html Chemistry Wed, 06 Jul 2011 15:01:23 EST news229183268 Water and ice may not be among the first things that come to mind when you think about single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs), but a Japan-based research team hoping to get a clearer understanding of the phase behavior of confined water in the cylindrical pores of carbon nanotubes zeroed in on confined water's properties and made some surprising discoveries. http://phys.org/news227976548.html Nanotechnology Wed, 22 Jun 2011 15:49:39 EST news227976548 Researchers at Delft University of Technology and the University of Basel have established a biomimetic nanopore that provides a unique test and measurement platform for the way that proteins move into a cell's nucleus. In the journal Nature Nanotechnology, they report an artificial nanopore that is functionalized with key proteins which mimicks the natural nuclear pore. Upon testing the transport of individual proteins through the biomimetic pore, they found that most proteins cannot move through, but some specific ones can indeed pass. This is the hallmark of the intriguing selectivity that is also found in natural pores. The biomimetic pore is fully functional and can be used as a testing platform for studies of drug delivery into a cell's nucleus. http://phys.org/news227780077.html Nanotechnology Mon, 20 Jun 2011 09:15:26 EST news227780077 (PhysOrg.com) -- University of Houston researchers have developed a method for creating single-crystal arrays of the material graphene, an advance that opens the possibility of a replacement for silicon in high-performance computers and electronics. The work by UH researchers and their collaborators is featured on the cover of the June issue of Nature Materials. http://phys.org/news226225746.html Nanotechnology Thu, 02 Jun 2011 09:29:28 EST news226225746 (PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers have developed a method for creating single-crystal arrays of a material called graphene, an advance that opens up the possibility of a replacement for silicon in high-performance computers and electronics. http://phys.org/news225611978.html Nanotechnology Thu, 26 May 2011 07:00:31 EST news225611978 A step change in research relating to plasma nanoscience is needed for the world to overcome the challenge of sufficient energy creation and storage, says a leading scientist from CSIRO Materials Science and Engineering and the University of Sydney, Australia. http://phys.org/news221984091.html Physics Thu, 14 Apr 2011 07:16:00 EST news221984091 Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have achieved a breakthrough in the field of nanoscience by successfully altering nanocrystal properties with impurity atoms -- a process called doping – thereby opening the way for the manufacture of improved semiconductor nanocrystals. http://phys.org/news221132192.html Nanotechnology Mon, 04 Apr 2011 10:36:53 EST news221132192 In the late 1950s, Richard Feynman famously imagined a science where researchers and engineers could achieve remarkable feats by manipulating matter and creating structures all the way down to the level of individual atoms. http://phys.org/news214048543.html Nanotechnology Wed, 12 Jan 2011 09:56:25 EST news214048543 Dutch scientists from the Kavli Institute of Nanoscience at Delft University of Technology and Eindhoven University of Technology have succeeded in controlling the building blocks of a future super-fast quantum computer. They are now able to manipulate these building blocks (qubits) with electrical rather than magnetic fields, as has been the common practice up till now. They have also been able to embed these qubits into semiconductor nanowires. The scientists’ findings have been published in the current issue of the science journal Nature (23 December). http://phys.org/news212319113.html Physics Thu, 23 Dec 2010 09:32:25 EST news212319113 Researchers from TU Delft's Kavli Institute of Nanoscience and the Institut Non Linéaire de Nice, have shown that certain physical properties of rotating microscopic cylinders resemble those of communicating neurons, for example. http://phys.org/news212054504.html Physics Mon, 20 Dec 2010 08:01:57 EST news212054504 Researchers at Delft University of Technology and Oxford University announce a new type of nanopore device that could help in developing fast and cheap genetic analysis. In the journal Nature Nanotechnology (November 28), they report on a novel method that combines man-made and biological materials to result in a tiny hole on a chip, which is able to measure and analyze single DNA molecules. http://phys.org/news210249633.html Nanotechnology Mon, 29 Nov 2010 10:40:46 EST news210249633 Nanotechnology is about to emerge in the world of pesticides and pest control, and a range of new approaches are needed to understand the implications for public health, ensure that this is done safely, maximize the potential benefits and prevent possible risks, researchers say in a new report. http://phys.org/news205413602.html Nanotechnology Mon, 04 Oct 2010 13:30:02 EST news205413602 A new type of nanoparticle resembling the six-pointed Star of David (Magen David) that is the symbol on the flag of Israel has been discovered by researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The discovery, the researchers say, may lead to new ways for sensing of glucose in diagnosing diabetes or provide a catalyst to capture the sun's energy and turn it into clean fuel. http://phys.org/news204198267.html Nanotechnology Mon, 20 Sep 2010 10:45:00 EST news204198267 Finding ways to control matter at the level of single atoms and electrons fascinates many scientists and engineers because the ability to manipulate single charges and single magnetic moments (spins) may help researchers penetrate deep into the mysteries of quantum mechanics and modern solid-state physics. It may also allow development of new, highly sensitive magnetometers with nanometer resolution, single-spin transistors for coherent spintronics, and solid-state devices for quantum information processing. http://phys.org/news203940301.html Physics Fri, 17 Sep 2010 11:05:14 EST news203940301 A team of scientists led by Eugenia Kumacheva of the Department of Chemistry at the University of Toronto has discovered a way to predict the organization of nanoparticles in larger forms by treating them much the same as ensembles of molecules formed from standard chemical reactions. http://phys.org/news198169615.html Nanotechnology Mon, 12 Jul 2010 16:40:15 EST news198169615 (PhysOrg.com) -- A collaboration between the Advanced Photon Source and Center for Nanoscale Materials at Argonne National Laboratory has "seen" the crystallization of nanoparticles in unprecedented detail. http://phys.org/news193058818.html Nanotechnology Fri, 14 May 2010 12:29:09 EST news193058818 How tiny is 'Tiny'? Well it's nano, and nano is everywhere. It gives butterflies their colour and geckos their sticky feet; it can make water-proof plants and honey-proof spoons; help us cure diseases and help stop climate change. http://phys.org/news192300060.html Nanotechnology Wed, 05 May 2010 17:41:44 EST news192300060