Dec 23, 2025 Scientists conducted a detailed investigation into how electrowetting modulates charge storage inside carbon nanopores. (Nanowerk News) Supercapacitors are valued for rapid charge–discharge performance but lag behind batteries in energy density due to limited charge storage within nanopores. Activated carbon remains a preferred electrode material, yet its microporous...
DNA origami cages enable precise electrical measurements of single proteins
Dec 23, 2025 DNA origami cages constrain individual proteins toward preferred orientations on electrodes, dramatically improving electrical measurement precision and enabling detection of subtle structural changes from molecular interactions. (Nanowerk Spotlight) A single protein molecule, just a few nanometers across, can reveal whether a drug binds its target or whether...
Single atom placement unlocks new path to durable green hydrogen catalysts
Dec 23, 2025 Researchers discover that embedding iridium atoms inside catalyst crystals instead of on the surface dramatically improves durability for green hydrogen production. (Nanowerk News) Producing green hydrogen through water electrolysis requires catalysts that can survive punishing acidic conditions while driving the oxygen evolution reaction. But the harsh environment...
New hybrid nanomaterials could replace century old fertilizer production process
Dec 23, 2025 Scientists develop metal-organic framework composites that convert nitrogen to ammonia using renewable electricity, offering a cleaner fertilizer alternative. (Nanowerk News) For more than a century, the world has relied on the Haber-Bosch process to convert atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia, the key ingredient in synthetic fertilizers. This industrial...
Stardust study resets how life’s atoms spread through space
Dec 22, 2025 Observations of red giant R Doradus suggest stardust grains are too small for starlight to drive winds, challenging a key model. (Nanowerk News) Starlight and stardust are not enough to drive the powerful winds of giant stars, transporting the building blocks of life through our galaxy. That’s...
Universal growth conditions yield transfer-free monolayer graphene on perovskite oxides
Dec 22, 2025 Identical growth conditions yield uniform monolayer graphene on three different perovskite oxides, suggesting gas-phase chemistry enables universal fabrication without the defects that transfer methods introduce. (Nanowerk Spotlight) Stacking graphene onto perovskite oxides creates hybrid structures with electronic properties that neither material possesses alone. Graphene on strontium titanate,...
Engineered vesicles train immune cells to suppress harmful responses
Dec 22, 2025 A new class of engineered extracellular vesicles induces antigen-specific regulatory T cells, offering a targeted strategy for treating autoimmune and allergic diseases. (Nanowerk News) A research team at the Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI) and the Faculty of Medicine at Kanazawa University has developed a new class...
Chemists create a gold nanocluster with an open channel running through its atomic core
Dec 22, 2025 A 40-atom gold nanocluster breaks from gold's signature dense packing, forming square atomic planes with a central channel that accelerates electron relaxation about 80x. (Nanowerk Spotlight) Gold refuses to behave like other metals. It ignores oxygen, shrugs off acids that dissolve platinum, and maintains its lustrous gleam...
Washing machine filters that trap micro- and nanoplastics before they reach waterways
Dec 22, 2025 Tests show a new washing machine filter cuts polyester microfibres and captures particles down to 20 microns, helping keep plastics out of waterways. (Nanowerk News) A single laundry load containing synthetic clothing can release thousands of plastic microfibres from nylon, acrylic and polyester materials. Lab testing of...
Quantum nanothermometer shows that single-cell hyperthermia triggers immune reprogramming
Dec 21, 2025 Atomic defects in nanodiamonds enable both precise heating of lysosomes inside macrophages and nanoscale temperature measurement, revealing that localized thermal spikes trigger immune cell reprogramming. (Nanowerk Spotlight) The human body maintains a core temperature of about 37 °C, but the interiors of individual cells tell a different...