Home > Press > An atomic-scale window into superconductivity paves the way for new quantum materials: New technique helps researchers understand unconventional superconductors Illustration of Andreev reflection between a superconductor and an atomically sharp metal tip. CREDIT Aalto University / Jose Lado. Abstract:Superconductors are materials with no electrical resistance whatsoever,...
‘Self-aware’ and self-powered metamaterial implants
Jun 03, 2022 (Nanowerk Spotlight) Medical research is moving quickly towards a future where smart medical implants can continuously monitor their condition inside the body and autonomously respond to changes such as for instance infection by releasing anti-inflammatory agents. Some examples that researchers have already demonstrated are sensors that can...
Avatar against food waste
Jun 03, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Around one third of all food worldwide ends up in the trash bin instead of on our plate. One reason is unfavorable storage conditions along production and supply chains, including suboptimal storage at home. With the help of digital twins, researchers at Empa and Stellenbosch...
Rapid, single-cell analysis of microbiotas now possible
Jun 03, 2022 (Nanowerk News) A single-cell method developed by RIKEN biophysicists, that can rapidly classify hundreds of thousands of bacteria according to species, promises to be an invaluable tool for discovering how gut, skin, ocean and soil microbes vary with changing conditions (Nature Communications, "High-throughput identification and quantification of...
Shining light on a fluid completely changes its dielectric permittivity
Jun 03, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Three RIKEN researchers have created a liquid whose response to an electric field can be tuned over the largest range of any known material (Nature Communications, "Anisotropic fluid with phototunable dielectric permittivity"). The fluid could find use in various applications including wearable electronics. How materials...
Catching microplastics with spider webs
Jun 03, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Flies, mosquitoes, dust and even microplastics – spider webs catch things flying through the air. Researchers at the University of Oldenburg have now for the first time examined the webs for the smallest plastic particles – on inner-city streets with varying levels of traffic. They...
Novel method for early disease detection using DNA droplets
Jun 03, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Aqueous droplet formation by liquid-liquid phase separation (or coacervation) in macromolecules is a hot topic in life sciences research. Of these various macromolecules that form droplets, DNA is quite interesting because it is predictable and programmable, which are qualities useful in nanotechnology. Recently, the programmability...
Nanostructured fibers can impersonate human muscles
Jun 03, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Mimicking the human body, specifically the actuators that control muscle movement, is of immense interest around the globe. In recent years, it has led to many innovations to improve robotics, prosthetic limbs and more, but creating these actuators typically involves complex processes, with expensive and...
An atomic-scale window into superconductivity paves the way for new quantum materials
Jun 03, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Superconductors are materials with no electrical resistance whatsoever, commonly requiring extremely low temperatures. They are used in a wide range of domains, from medical applications to a central role in quantum computers. Superconductivity is caused by specially linked pairs of electrons known as Cooper pairs....
Promising new materials mimic muscle structure and function
Jun 03, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Inspired by the structure of muscles, an innovative new strategy for creating fiber actuators could lead to advances in robotics, prosthetics, and smart clothing, according to a Penn State led team of scientists who discovered the process. “Actuators are any material that will change or...