Feb 12, 2026 Researchers propose detecting tight supermassive black hole binaries via repeating light flashes from stars magnified by gravitational lensing as the pair orbits, offering a new way to spot these hidden systems with upcoming surveys. (Nanowerk News) Researchers at Oxford University and the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational...
Nanolaser can halve a computer’s energy use
Feb 12, 2026 The invention of a nanolaser is the first step towards future digital communication, where communication on microchips can be based entirely on light particles. (Nanowerk News) Researchers at DTU have developed a groundbreaking nanolaser that could be the key to much faster and much more energy-efficient computers,...
Smartwatch with plasmonic nanopillar sensor tracks glucose in sweat
Feb 12, 2026 Silver-coated nanopillars selectively bind glucose in sweat, producing measurable light changes. A compact LED and Bluetooth module relay readings to a phone in real time. (Nanowerk News) Continuous glucose monitoring is essential for effective diabetes management, yet most existing systems rely on invasive sensors that can cause...
Neighboring quantum dots disturb stored quantum information, posing challenge for scaling up
Feb 12, 2026 Precise measurements show that future quantum computers may need to correct for errors caused by interference between neighboring quantum dots. (Nanowerk News) Devices that can confine individual electrons are potential building blocks for quantum information systems. But the electrons must be protected from external disturbances. RIKEN researchers...
These synthetic polymers can grow, shrink, heal, and reshape themselves like living tissue
Feb 12, 2026 Researchers create 'living' polymers that grow, degrow, and reprogram their properties after fabrication using reversible chemistry and light-activated catalysts. (Nanowerk Spotlight) A salamander can regrow a severed limb in a matter of weeks. The process is astonishing in its completeness: cells at the wound site dedifferentiate, proliferate,...
Transforming wave energy harvesting with gyroscopes
Feb 12, 2026 New research presents a gyroscopic wave energy converter that absorbs up to 50% of wave energy across frequencies, nearing maximum efficiency and guiding improved designs. (Nanowerk News) Ocean waves are one of the most abundant and predictable renewable energy sources on the planet, yet efficiently harnessing their...
Driven electrolytes are agile and active at the nanoscale
Feb 12, 2026 Neutral particles can outpace diffusion in electric fields, shifting motion regimes over time; the model predicts behavior in sensing and active matter systems. (Nanowerk News) Technologies for energy storage as well as biological systems such as the network of neurons in the brain depend on driven electrolytes...
Seeing how atoms vibrate at the Angstrom scale
Feb 11, 2026 New first-principles simulations reveal how metallic surfaces reshape nanoscale vibrational imaging, advancing the interpretation of tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy. (Nanowerk News) Probing the vibration of atoms provides detailed information on local structure and bonding that define material properties. Tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TERS) offers extremely high resolution to probe...
Carbon nanotube ‘sandpaper’ smooths chip surfaces to atomic precision
Feb 11, 2026 Carbon nanotube sandpaper polishes semiconductor surfaces down to a few atoms, reducing defects by 67% and eliminating chemical slurry waste. (Nanowerk News) The performance and stability of smartphones and artificial intelligence (AI) services depend on how uniformly and precisely semiconductor surfaces are processed. KAIST researchers have expanded...