Feb 28, 2026 Neurons placed inside engineered living bodies built from frog cells self-organize, become active, and reshape movement without evolutionary guidance. (Nanowerk Spotlight) Understanding how neurons organize and function inside bodies that evolution never designed matters for building functional living machines, engineering replacement tissues, and grasping how biological complexity...
Common lab design inflates 2D transistor performance by up to six times
Feb 28, 2026 Lab architecture used to test 2D semiconductors artificially boosts performance metrics, making it harder to assess whether these materials can truly replace silicon. (Nanowerk News) Two-dimensional semiconductors could one day replace silicon in transistors, delivering smaller, faster and more energy-efficient processors. To ease their production and testing...
AI toolkit turns microscopy images into quantitative microstructure data
Feb 28, 2026 An AI-powered toolkit automatically extracts and quantifies microstructural features from microscopy images, accelerating data-driven materials discovery and optimization. (Nanowerk News) A research team from The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has developed GrainBot, an AI-enabled toolkit that automatically extracts and quantifies multiple microstructural features...
Nanochannels yield ultra-strong membranes for longer-lasting clean energy systems
Feb 27, 2026 Chemical engineers have found a way to fabricate film-thin membranes imbued with super strength that could extend the durability of decarbonisation technologies. (Nanowerk News) Researchers at The University of Queensland are harnessing an intricate building technique to produce hyper-thin film membranes that boost the reliability, efficiency, and...
How to spot hidden flaws in ultrathin insulators
Feb 27, 2026 Researchers have shown that hard-to-spot defects in a widely used two-dimensional insulator can trap electrical charges and locally weaken the material, making it more likely to fail at lower voltages. (Nanowerk News) Future devices will continue to probe the frontier of the very small, and at scales...
Nanoplastics can interact with Salmonella to affect food safety
Feb 27, 2026 In a new study, researchers examined what happens when nanoplastics interact with Salmonella, potentially affecting food safety and human health. (Nanowerk News) Plastic products are ubiquitous in our food supply chain, shedding microplastics into every part of the human ecosystem. As they degrade, microplastics break down into...
Using moon dirt to build future lunar colonies
Feb 27, 2026 Laser 3D printing offers sustainable foundation for in-space manufacturing. (Nanowerk News) Simulated lunar dirt can be turned into extremely durable structures, potentially paving the way to more sustainable and cost-effective space missions, a new study suggests. Using a special laser 3D printing method, researchers melted fake lunar...
Light alone programs and reprograms a crystal surface to guide living cells
Feb 27, 2026 Erasable electric fields written by laser light onto crystal surfaces can trap, align, and release living cells without electrodes or physical contact. (Nanowerk Spotlight) All human cells possess electrical properties. Every cell maintains a voltage difference across its membrane, produced by the movement of charged ions like...
Electric eel biology inspires powerful gel battery
Feb 27, 2026 Researchers used a unique approach to develop non-toxic batteries for use in medical devices and more. (Nanowerk News) Power sources used in devices found in or around biological tissue must be flexible and non-toxic, while still powerful enough to support demanding technologies such as medical devices or...
Polar bear hair inspires graphene fibers that sense, insulate, and power smart clothing
Feb 27, 2026 Hollow graphene aerogel fibers mimicking polar bear hair achieve record-low thermal conductivity and high electrical conductivity for multifunctional smart textiles. (Nanowerk Spotlight) Polar bears survive Arctic winters that plunge below −70 °C, and a key reason lies not in their bulk but in the architecture of their...