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Turning everyday filter paper into a miniature microfluidic platform with DLP 3D printing

Dec 10, 2025 3D printing creates hydrophobic barriers in hydrophilic paper, guiding liquids along precise paths for controlled mixing, gradients, and two-phase separation. (Nanowerk News) Filter paper plays important roles in everyday laboratory work, from simple solid-liquid separation to chromatography, thanks to its microstructural properties. It is composed of small...

Laser draws made-to-order magnetic landscapes

Dec 10, 2025 Researchers have for the first time used lasers to continuously tune 2D materials' magnetic properties, enabling new data storage and processing applications. (Nanowerk News) Sometimes using conventional tools in a novel way produces astounding results. That's what happened when researchers used the high-tech laser equipment in PSI's...

New superconducting thin film for quantum computer chips

Dec 10, 2025 Researchers made iron telluride into a superconducting thin film by reducing crystal distortion, enabling use in quantum chips at very low temperatures. (Nanowerk News) If quantum computing is going to become an every-day reality, we need better superconducting thin films, the hardware that enables storage and processing...

Beetle-inspired heat sink achieves high-efficiency CPU cooling through millisecond bubble transport

Dec 10, 2025 A 3D-printed Janus microchannel heat sink inspired by desert beetles enables ultrafast bubble removal and prevents CPU thermal throttling. (Nanowerk Spotlight) The Namib desert beetle survives one of Earth's harshest environments through an elegant trick of surface chemistry. Its shell combines water-attracting bumps with water-repelling troughs, allowing...

Study reveals limitations of AI-based material prediction

Dec 09, 2025 Computer simulations and artificial intelligence often make significant errors when predicting the properties of new, high-performance materials. This is the finding of an international study where the authors also provide tools to address this issue. (Nanowerk News) Many devices we use daily—such as smartphone batteries or solar...

Nanodiamond quantum sensors track metabolism inside living cells in real time

Dec 09, 2025 Diamond nanoparticles containing nitrogen-vacancy centers can now monitor cellular metabolism in real time, targeting specific organelles while tracking particle movement inside living cells. (Nanowerk Spotlight) Watching cells breathe has always been difficult. The chemical reactions that keep our cells alive happen at scales too small and speeds...