Dec 28, 2025 Balancing electronic and ionic charge carriers in polymer nanofilms significantly improves physical reservoir computing, a brain-inspired approach that harnesses material dynamics instead of traditional circuits. (Nanowerk Spotlight) A polymer film barely ten nanometers thick can perform computations by exploiting the interplay between two fundamentally different charge carriers,...
New nanosensor detects dopamine release from living brain organoids in real time
Dec 27, 2025 A novel electrode platform detects dopamine from single living brain organoids in real time, enabling non-destructive monitoring of neuronal function at concentrations as low as 7.51 nM. (Nanowerk Spotlight) Dopamine, the neurotransmitter central to movement, motivation, and the symptoms of Parkinson's disease, operates in the brain at...
Carbon nanotubes tuned to emit single photons at telecom wavelengths
Dec 26, 2025 Researchers created carbon nanotubes that emit one photon from a single controllable point, enabling temperature quantum light sources for telecom use. (Nanowerk News) Carbon nanotubes that emit single photons from just one point along their length have been made in a deterministic manner by RIKEN researchers (Nano...
Nanosensors reveal if immunotherapy is working days before tumors respond
Dec 26, 2025 Gold nanoparticles that cluster in response to T cell enzymes can predict cancer immunotherapy success days before tumors begin to shrink. (Nanowerk Spotlight) When engineered immune cells attack a tumor, they leave behind a chemical signature: an enzyme called granzyme B. Detecting that signature inside a living...
Streamlining the production of green hydrogen
Dec 26, 2025 New study shows how complexing agents and predictive models can improve nickel electroplating for alkaline water electrolysis, reducing waste and cost. (Nanowerk News) Hydrogen has been proposed as an alternative to fossil fuels, for example in the shipping and aviation industries. However, the production of hydrogen is...
Scientists bottle sunlight and use it hours later to produce hydrogen in the dark
Dec 26, 2025 Two inexpensive commercial materials store solar energy as electrons and release hydrogen fuel on demand in darkness, requiring no external power and setting a new performance record. (Nanowerk Spotlight) Imagine a truck arriving at a factory in northern Norway during the polar night. It carries no compressed...
The perfect plastic? Plant-based, fully saltwater degradable, zero microplastics
Dec 25, 2025 Researchers made a strong, flexible plastic from plant cellulose that breaks down quickly in natural environments, unlike many so-called biodegradable plastics. (Nanowerk News) Researchers led by Takuzo Aida at the RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science (CEMS) in Japan have one-upped themselves in their quest to solve...
Graphene transistors turn nanoscale flaws into unclonable digital fingerprints
Dec 25, 2025 Atomic-scale imperfections in graphene transistors generate unique wireless fingerprints that cannot be copied or predicted, offering a new approach to hardware security for IoT devices. (Nanowerk Spotlight) Every graphene transistor is an accident. When engineers deposit a single-atom-thick sheet of carbon onto a silicon chip, they inherit...
A scalable method for ultrahigh-resolution quantum dot displays
Dec 23, 2025 Researchers develop universal, nondestructive photolithography method for quantum dot patterning for high-resolution next-generation displays. (Nanowerk News) Colloidal quantum dots (QDs) have emerged as promising materials for next-generation displays due to their tunable emission, high brightness, and compatibility with low-cost solution processing. However, a major challenge is, achieving...
Molecular switch catalyst toggles green hydrogen function by assembly
Dec 23, 2025 Molecular vanadium cluster on carbon nanotubes switches between oxygen and hydrogen production in acid, depending on assembly, offering a path beyond iridium and platinum. (Nanowerk News) Hydrogen production through water electrolysis is a cornerstone of the clean energy transition, but it relies on efficient and stable catalysts...