May 02, 2026 Light-driven antioxidant nanomotors help reach injured kidney tissue and reduce the damage that allows kidney stone crystals to attach. (Nanowerk Spotlight) Kidney stones become a clinical problem when hard crystals grow large enough to cause pain, obstruction, or infection. By that stage, treatment often focuses on removing...
Programmable RNA nanostars create custom artificial organelles inside cells
May 01, 2026 A new RNA-based method creates programmable artificial organelles inside living cells, enabling customizable compartments for nanomedicine and gene engineering. (Nanowerk News) Just as the human body relies on organs such as the heart or liver for essential functions, cells depend on their own tiny organs, or organelles,...
Plasmonic nanocatalyst splits hydrogen activation from hydrogenation step
May 02, 2026 A light-driven catalyst built from palladium single atoms and plasmonic gold nanoparticles converts phenylacetylene to styrene at room temperature with 90% selectivity. (Nanowerk News) Researchers have built a photocatalyst that addresses a long-standing trade-off in selective alkyne semihydrogenation by assigning hydrogen activation and selective hydrogenation to two...
Stick-on gel offers new way to treat and monitor plants
May 02, 2026 Stick-on gel delivers drugs and nanoparticles directly into plant tissues, clearing bacterial infections in 48 hours for safer, targeted crop protection. (Nanowerk News) A stick-on gel for plants could one day offer a simple, safe and targeted way to treat diseases and pests. Engineers at the University...
Promising new technique uses nanoparticles to detect pancreatic cancer
May 02, 2026 Scientists develop sophisticated blood test that is 97% effective in revealing pancreatic cancer. (Nanowerk News) Scientists at Oregon Health & Science University have developed a new technique using an electronic jolt and nanoparticles to reveal the telltale signal of an insidious form of cancer. The technique, described...
How energy is transferred in photosynthetic bacteria
May 01, 2026 A structural analysis reveals how energy harvested from sunlight is moved to where it can power photosynthesis. (Nanowerk News) RIKEN researchers have found out how light energy harvested by pigments besides chlorophyll is transferred to the molecular site where photosynthesis occurs in cyanobacteria (Plant and Cell Physiology,...
New nanoreactor design rule improves catalysis by balancing transport and kinetics
May 01, 2026 Optimization isn't always about maximization: researchers found a subtle rule where a bit of restraint actually speeds up chemical reactions in nanoreactors. (Nanowerk News) A new study by a team at Tohoku University, published in Chemical Engineering Journal ("Designing hollow-structured nanoreactors for effective use of catalytic nanoparticles...
Researchers clean up toxic perovskite solar panels to bring them indoors
May 01, 2026 A team of chemical engineers have developed a new fabrication method that eliminates the need for toxic lead and other hazardous solvents in perovskite indoor solar panels. (Nanowerk News) Safer and more environmentally friendly indoor solar panels could soon help power electronics in homes and offices, thanks...
Explosive evaporation unlocks new possibilities in 3D printing and chemical analysis
May 01, 2026 Researchers reveal how charged water droplets on frictionless surfaces spontaneously emit microdroplet jets, opening doors for nanofabrication and electrospray. (Nanowerk News) Water droplets might seem simple at first. But when nearing evaporation, a desperate power struggle of competing physical forces can emerge, with explosive effects. In a...
Twisted boron nitride boosts deep-UV light emission for LEDs
May 01, 2026 A new moire quantum well built from twisted boron nitride layers emits deep-ultraviolet light 20 times more efficiently than aluminum gallium nitride semiconductors. (Nanowerk News) A research team in South Korea has built a deep-ultraviolet semiconductor that emits light roughly 20 times more efficiently than the materials...