Nanostructures, as a physical system, are materials or assemblies characterized by at least one spatial dimension in the nanometer range (typically 1–100 nm), where quantum confinement, high surface-to-volume ratio, and size-dependent effects dominate their physical behavior. They include zero-, one-, two-, and three-dimensional architectures such as quantum dots, nanowires, nanotubes, and nanoporous frameworks. In this size regime, electronic, optical, mechanical, and thermal properties deviate markedly from bulk counterparts, enabling tunable band gaps, altered phonon and electron transport, and enhanced catalytic activity. Nanostructures are central platforms in nanophotonics, nanoelectronics, energy conversion, and sensing, where controlled synthesis, morphology, and interface engineering critically determine system performance.
Scientists have long known that heat can be used to help fight cancer. But heating tumors and cancer cells is trickier than it sounds. Apply too much heat and patients could get hurt; apply too little or target the wrong ...
Bio & Medicine
Jul 8, 2026
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9
Light can carry enormous amounts of information at extreme speeds, making photonic technologies promising for the development of faster communications, more powerful computing systems and more sensitive sensors. But for light ...
Nanophysics
Jul 7, 2026
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82
Nanomechanical resonators are miniature vibrating structures on chips that oscillate at frequencies ranging from a few kilohertz to gigahertz. They are used as ultrasensitive detectors of mass and force, temperature and pressure, ...
Nanophysics
Jul 7, 2026
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7
Researchers from Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU) have taken an important step toward developing intelligent molecular materials. The team headed by Dr. Bernd M. Schmidt (Institute of Organic Chemistry and Macromolecular ...
Bio & Medicine
Jul 6, 2026
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8
Researchers from UNSW Sydney have built the first artificial protein motor capable of taking controlled, directional steps along a DNA track. The protein, dubbed Tumbleweed, moves by alternating between three "feet" that ...
Bio & Medicine
Jul 6, 2026
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34
A newly developed framework for understanding the photoproperties of both natural organic matter and eumelanin, a natural pigment responsible for dark colors in organisms, may inspire advanced sustainable technologies, scientists ...
Nanophysics
Jul 4, 2026
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47
Researchers at the University of Münster and Ruhr University Bochum have demonstrated for the first time in real time that the body's own defense cells use catecholamines—neurotransmitters such as dopamine and adrenaline—to ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jul 3, 2026
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35
Nanoparticles are widely used in medicine to deliver drugs, genes or imaging agents to specific parts of the body. Once a nanoparticle reaches a cell, however, many things can happen—it can reach its target, be degraded, ...
Bio & Medicine
Jul 2, 2026
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41
The growing use of renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind power, requires energy storage systems that can charge quickly, deliver power efficiently and remain stable over long-term use. Batteries can store large ...
Nanomaterials
Jul 1, 2026
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7
Scientists have engineered a nanoscale switch using DNA "origami." Inspired by macroscale mechanical switches, the device achieves long-term functionality without the continuous forcing mechanism that past versions required ...
