ORNL story tips: Lab, field tests show improved building insulation performance; ORNL-developed software runs quantum programs on multiple quantum computers; ORNL moved single atoms below a crystal’s surface; certain bacteria turns mercury into methylmercury at varying rates across species; ORNL hosts Molten Salt Reactor Workshop in Oct.
Engineers have developed neutrophil “nanosponges” that can safely absorb and neutralize a variety of proteins that play a role in the progression of rheumatoid arthritis. Injections of these nanosponges effectively treated severe rheumatoid arthritis in two mouse models. Administering the nanosponges early on also prevented the disease from developing. The nanosponges are nanoparticles of biodegradable polymer coated with the cell membranes of neutrophils, a type of white blood cell.
In a study published today in the journal Science Advances, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory researchers, along with their counterparts at Harvard University, report on the hierarchical 3D printing of nanoporous gold, a proof of concept that researchers say could revolutionize the design of chemical reactors.
Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory induced a two-dimensional material to cannibalize itself for atomic “building blocks” from which stable structures formed. The findings provide insights that may improve design of 2D materials for fast-charging energy-storage and electronic devices.
Profiled is Sergei Kalinin of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, who knows that seeing something is not the same as understanding it. He convenes experts in microscopy and computing to gain scientific insights that inform the design of advanced materials for energy and information technologies.
Running computers on virtually invisible beams of light would make them faster, lighter and more energy efficient. A Vanderbilt team found the answer in a familiar formula.
By shining highly focused infrared light on living cells, scientists at Berkeley Lab hope to unmask individual cell identities, and to diagnose whether the cells are diseased or healthy.
Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory have developed a new approach to 3-D x-ray imaging that can visualize bulky materials in great detail—an impossible task with conventional imaging methods. The novel technique could help scientists unlock clues about the structural information of countless materials, from batteries to biological systems.
On August 9, 2018, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory bid farewell—for now—to approximately 250 students at the concluding ceremony to their 10 weeks of summer research. The daylong celebration honored the students’ efforts and accomplishments—and gave them the opportunity to showcase their work to their mentors, fellow interns, university administrators and faculty, and Brookhaven Lab staff.
Once in the territory of science fiction, “nanobots” are closer than ever to becoming a reality, with possible applications in medicine, manufacturing, robotics and fluidics. Today, scientists report progress in developing the tiny machines: They have made nanobot pumps that destroy nerve agents, while simultaneously administering an antidote.
Thousands of shipwrecks litter the seafloor all over the world, preserved in sediments and cold water. But when one of these ships is brought up from the depths, the wood quickly starts deteriorating. Today, scientists report a new way to use “smart” nanocomposites to conserve a 16th-century British warship, the Mary Rose, and its artifacts. The new approach could help preserve other salvaged ships by eliminating harmful acids without damaging the wooden structures themselves.
A fabric coating with thin, lightweight and flexible pressure sensors that can be embedded into shoes and other functional garments, sensors that can measure everything from the light touch of a finger to being driven over by a forklift. And it’s comfortable to boot!
Many natural products and drugs feature a so-called dicarbonyl motif – in certain cases however their preparation poses a challenge to organic chemists. In their most recent work, Nuno Maulide and his coworkers from the University of Vienna present a new route for these molecules. They use oxidized sulfur compounds even though sulfur is not included in the final product. The results are now published in the prestigious journal "Science".
A new manufacturing technique developed by researchers from Binghamton University, State University at New York may be able to avoid the “coffee ring” effect that plagues inkjet printers.
A research team has demonstrated how light-emitting nanoparticles, developed at Berkeley Lab, can be used to see deep in living tissue. Researchers hope they can be made to attach to specific components of cells to serve in an advanced imaging system that can pinpoint even single cancer cells.
A new, super-insulating gel developed by researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder could dramatically increase the energy efficiency of skyscrapers and other buildings, and might one day help scientists to build greenhouse-like habitats for colonists on Mars.
A team led by scientists at Berkeley Lab found a way to make a liquid-like state behave more like a solid, and then to reverse the process.
Researchers at University of Utah Health developed a proof-of-concept technology using nanoparticles that could offer a new approach for oral medications.
Rutgers University–New Brunswick engineers have created a smart wristband with a wireless connection to smartphones that will enable a new wave of personal health and environmental monitoring devices. Their technology, which could be added to watches and other wearable devices that monitor heart rates and physical activity, is detailed in a study published online in Microsystems & Nanoengineering.
The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded an expected $10.75 million, four-year grant to the University of Washington, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and other partner institutions for a new interdisciplinary research center to define the enigmatic rules governing how molecular-scale building blocks assemble into ordered structures & hierarchical materials.
This Focus Issue will look at recent advances in the in situ experimentation of plasticity and fracture, especially those that enable the development and design of materials and nanocomposites with enhanced mechanical properties reaching or approaching the extreme limits of materials properties.
Hollow molecular structures known as COFs suffer from an inherent problem: It’s difficult to keep a network of COFs connected in harsh chemical environments. Now, a team at the Berkeley Lab has used a chemical process discovered decades ago to make the linkages between COFs much more sturdy, and to give the COFs new characteristics that could expand their applications.
ORNL story tips: Residents’ shared desire for water security benefits neighborhoods; 3D printed molds for concrete facades promise lower cost, production time; ORNL engineered the edges of structures in 2D crystals; chasing runaway electrons in fusion plasmas; new tools to understand U.S. waterways and identify potential hydropower sites; better materials for 3D-printed permanent magnets could last longer, perform better.
Using an artful combination of nanotechnology and basic chemistry, Sandia National Laboratories researchers have encouraged gold nanoparticles to self-assemble into unusually large supercrystals that could significantly improve detection sensitivity to chemicals in explosives or drugs.
An Argonne researcher is collaborating with a user of the laboratory’s Center for Nanoscale Materials to study what makes silicon solar cells degrade. The answers may help lead to more durable solar cells and more affordable solar power.
Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago have demonstrated that magnetic nanoparticles can be used to ferry chemotherapy drugs into the spinal cord to treat hard-to-reach spinal tumors in an animal model. The unique delivery system represents a novel way to target chemotherapy drugs to spinal cancer cells, which are hard to reach because the drugs must cross the blood-brain barrier.
Argonne researchers find that tin is a silicon-friendly alternative for production of solid-state memory components.
Using an advanced, new microscopy technique that can visualize chemical reactions occurring in liquid environments, researchers have discovered a new reason lithium-oxygen batteries — which promise up to five times more energy than the lithium-ion batteries that power electric vehicles and cell phones — tend to slow down and die after just a few charge/discharge cycles.
Named for the mythical god with two faces, Janus membranes — double-sided membranes that serve as gatekeepers between two substances — have emerged as a material with potential industrial uses.
Scientists add active control to design capabilities for new lightweight flat optical devices.
Researchers design self-assembling nanosheets that mimic the surface of cells.
In the quest to realize artificial photosynthesis to convert sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide into fuel – just as plants do – researchers need to not only identify materials to efficiently perform photoelectrochemical water splitting, but also to understand why a certain material may or may not work. Now scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have pioneered a technique that uses nanoscale imaging to understand how local, nanoscale properties can affect a material’s macroscopic performance.
Argonne’s Oleo Sponge, developed to clean oil spills, lived up to its promise in an experiment conducted off the coast of Southern California, in April.
Engineers at the University of California San Diego have shed new light on a scientific mystery regarding the atomic-level mechanism of the sulfur embrittlement of nickel, a classic problem that has puzzled the scientific community for nearly a century. The discovery also enriches fundamental understanding of general grain boundaries that often control the mechanical and physical properties of polycrystalline materials.
Argonne scientists reaffirm the potential of graphene as a cheaper, more efficient alternative to oil for lubrication purposes.
In a “proof of concept” study, scientists at Johns Hopkins Medicine say they have successfully delivered nano-size packets of genetic code called microRNAs to treat human brain tumors implanted in mice. The contents of the super-small containers were designed to target cancer stem cells, a kind of cellular “seed” that produces countless progeny and is a relentless barrier to ridding the brain of malignant cells.
When most people think of tea and molasses, their thoughts don’t stray any further than the kitchen. Meghana Bollimpalli, a Central High School student who was mentored by two chemistry professors at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, saw the potential to create a less-expensive renewable energy source that has earned her more than $60,000 in scholarships and prize money from science fair competitions.
Adam Friedman, MD, professor of dermatology at the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences, and his team investigated the use of nanotechnology to improve efinaconazole treatment and make it more cost effective.
Argonne researchers improve upon acoustic levitation by using less material, lowering costs and paving the way for more research in the field.
Scientists uncovered the microscopic process by which metal wires can lose their superconductivity. The ability to control this transition in nanowires could lead to a new class of energy-efficient information technologies based on tiny superconductors.
A team led by the University of California San Diego has developed a chip that can detect a type of genetic mutation known as a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and wirelessly send the results in real time to an electronic device. The chip is at least 1,000 times more sensitive at detecting an SNP than current technology. The advance could lead to cheaper, faster and portable biosensors for early detection of genetic markers for diseases such as cancer.
A multidisciplinary team from Washington University in St. Louis and the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base has developed a high-tech fix that brings some medical diagnostic tests out of the dark and into the light.
For the first time, physicists discovered that superconducting nanowires made of MoGe alloy undergo quantum phase transitions from a superconducting to a normal metal state in increasing magnetic field at low temperatures. The findings are fully explained by the critical theory.
Tonya Peeples has been appointed the Penn State College of Engineering’s associate dean for equity and inclusion, effective August 15.
All matter is composed of atoms, which are too small to see without powerful modern instruments including electron microscopes. The same electrons that form images of atomic structures can also be used to move atoms in materials. This technique of single-atom manipulation, pioneered by University of Vienna researchers, is now able to achieve nearly perfect control over the movement of individual silicon impurity atoms within the lattice of graphene, the two-dimensional sheet of carbon.
Argonne scientists have determined that electrons in some oxides can experience an “unconventional slowing down” of their response to a light pulse. This behavior may result in potentially useful properties related to magnetism, conductivity or even superconductivity.
A “smart” bandage is designed to monitor the condition of chronic wounds and deliver drug treatments to improve chances of healing. While the bandages remain to be assessed in a clinical context, the research is aimed at transforming bandaging from a passive to an active treatment paradigm.
University of Adelaide-led research has moved the world one step closer to reliable, high-performance quantum computing.
Polymer plastic solar cells remain an industry priority because of their light weight, flexibility and cost-effectiveness. Now scientists from Stony Brook University and the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) have demonstrated that these types of solar cells can be more efficient and have more stability based on new research findings.
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