Cells are very good at protecting their precious contents; as a result, it’s very difficult to penetrate their membrane walls to deliver drugs, nutrients or biosensors without damaging or destroying the cell. One effective way of doing so, discovered in 2008, is to use nanoparticles of pure gold, coated with a thin layer of a special polymer. But nobody knew exactly why this combination worked so well, or how it made it through the cell wall.
Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have designed a new material to make smart windows even smarter.
Researchers in the University of Minnesota’s College of Science and Engineering and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, CO, have overcome technical hurdles in the quest for inexpensive, durable electronics and solar cells made with non-toxic chemicals.
Alcoa and OJSC RUSNANO will produce technologically advanced oil and gas aluminum drill pipe finished with a life-extending anti-wear coating under a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed by the companies.
Tiny implants to monitor bodily functions or to provide insulin or any other drug based on immediate need would be an advancement in personalized medicine, but a problem inherent in implants is the tendency of the human immune system to recognize the device as an invader and encapsulate it, preventing the device from doing its job.
Nano Labs Corp. announced the development of a new self-cleaning paint that degrades pollutants through a proprietary nanoparticle compound and natural light.
Researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Kansas State University have demonstrated a spray-on mixture of carbon nanotubes and ceramic that has unprecedented ability to resist damage while absorbing laser light.
