Apr 09, 2026 A new AI-enhanced framework combines machine learning validation with life-cycle assessment to cut plastic waste emissions by up to 96.3% in urban settings. (Nanowerk News) A new evaluation framework uses artificial intelligence to assess and optimize how cities manage plastic waste, targeting both carbon emissions and cost-effectiveness....
Imaging technique captures more information about ultrafast microscopic processes
Apr 09, 2026 By capturing intensity and phase changes in a single measurement, new method could help scientists design new materials, explore biological processes and advance high-power lasers. (Nanowerk News) Researchers have developed a new imaging technique that captures more information about ultrafast processes in the microscopic world than was...
Water molecules eliminate brute force from MXene nanosheet production
Apr 09, 2026 Water molecules replace mechanical force to exfoliate defect-free MXene nanosheets at kilogram scale, enabling record conductivity and lithium extraction from seawater. (Nanowerk Spotlight) Certain materials gain extraordinary properties when thinned down to a single atomic layer. Graphene, a one-atom-thick sheet of carbon isolated in 2004, was the...
The role of graphene in photocatalytic composites revealed by theoretical modelling
Apr 09, 2026 Study reveals defects in graphene enable covalent bonding with TiO2, creating hybrid states that boost charge transfer and cut recombination, enhancing photocatalytic performance. (Nanowerk News) TiO2 photocatalysts have great potential for environmentally friendly applications, such as pollution remediation, artificial photosynthesis and CO2 reduction. Photocatalysis is a green,...
Release of the exoplanet database EXOKYOTO3D and announcement of the extended version EXOKYOTO4D
Apr 09, 2026 New exoplanet database visualizes planets in 3D star maps, simulates surface views, and estimates environments, with a time-enabled 4D version coming soon. (Nanowerk News) A research group led by Professor Yosuke Alexandre Yamashiki (Graduate School of Advanced Integrated Studies in Human Survivability, Kyoto University), Assistant Professor Takanori...
Breathing new life Into tubercolosis treatment with inhalable nanomedicine
Apr 09, 2026 Scientists are developing an inhalable nanosystem to transport TB medicines directly into the lungs. (Nanowerk News) At the Wits Advanced Drug Delivery Platform (WADDP), postdoctoral researcher Dr Lindokuhle Ngema is developing an inhalable nanosystem to transport TB medicines directly into the lungs, the very place where the...
Octopus-shaped nanomachine reprograms ATP flow to starve cancer cells
Apr 09, 2026 An octopus-shaped nanomachine hijacks tumor ATP leakage to power a self-amplifying cycle of membrane damage, drug delivery, and metabolic collapse in cancer cells. (Nanowerk Spotlight) Cancer cells fuel their survival through continuous production and controlled release of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the molecule that powers nearly all energy-dependent...
What if dark matter came in two states?
Apr 09, 2026 Dark matter may be two particles that must find each other to annihilate, explaining why gamma-ray signals appear in our galaxy but not in dwarf galaxies. (Nanowerk News) The absence of a signal could itself be a signal. This is the idea behind a new study published...
Optimizing nanopillar sensors by modeling hidden cell membrane folds
Apr 08, 2026 A physics-based model that accounts for membrane surface folds predicts cell adhesion on nanopillar arrays with 97% accuracy, enabling optimized biosensor design. (Nanowerk Spotlight) Under a microscope, a cell's outer surface looks nothing like the smooth bubble most people imagine. It is crumpled, ridged, and ruffled, covered...
A nanoscale robotic cleaner
Apr 08, 2026 Researchers demonstrate light-driven nanorobots that can selectively capture, transport, and remove bacteria. (Nanowerk News) Tiny robots – around 50 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair – open up fascinating possibilities: they enable the controlled manipulation of objects far too small for human hands. This...