Jan 26, 2026 Human health risks from direct consumption of toxic nanoplastics are already scary, but researchers have confirmed that nanoplastics in water give rise to an additional threat: They strengthen bacteria. (Nanowerk News) In a recent study published in Water Research ("Nanoplastics induce prophage activation and quorum sensing to...
Astronomers reveal new details about dark matter’s influence on Universe
Jan 26, 2026 Scientists have created the highest resolution map of the dark matter that threads through the Universe, showing its influence on the formation of stars, galaxies and planets. (Nanowerk News) The research, including astronomers from Durham University, UK, tells us more about how this invisible substance helped pull...
Graphene speakers bend, stretch, and fold without losing their sound
Jan 26, 2026 Vertical graphene microstructures break the thickness-performance tradeoff in thermoacoustic speakers, enabling flexible audio devices that stretch to 500% strain without significant sound loss. (Nanowerk Spotlight) Flexible electronics have come tantalizingly close to merging with the human body. Thin-film displays that bend around wrists, sensors that stretch with...
Specially textured metasurfaces for identifying aggressive cancer
Jan 26, 2026 Study shows aggressive cancer cells reveal themselves by physical behavior on textured metasurfaces, not genes, enabling fast, label-free detection missed by flat tests. (Nanowerk News) New study shows that aggressive cancer cells can be identified in a simple, new way; by how they physically behave, not just...
Stacked atom thin materials enable a new form of ultralow power memory
Jan 26, 2026 By stacking graphene with other ultrathin layers, researchers created a memory effect that stores data electrically with very low power and long retention. (Nanowerk News) A research team led by Professor Youngwook Kim from the Department of Physics and Chemistry, DGIST, in collaboration with the research team...
Watching atoms roam before they decay
Jan 26, 2026 Scientists revealed how atoms rearrange themselves before releasing low-energy electrons in a decay process initiated by X-ray irradiation. For the first time, they gain detailed insights into the timing of the process, shedding light on related radiation damage mechanisms. (Nanowerk News) High-energy radiation, for example in the...
A spinning 3D printer creates air-powered soft robots that curl, twist, and grip
Jan 26, 2026 A spinning 3D printer nozzle creates soft robots with built-in air channels that bend in programmed directions, turning flat printed structures into grippers and shape-shifting devices. (Nanowerk Spotlight) Pneumatic soft robots use pressurized air for actuation. Hollow channels embedded within a flexible elastomer body inflate when air...
Transforming hydrogen energy by glattening granular catalysts into nanosheets
Jan 25, 2026 Researchers have developed a new catalyst architecture that dramatically reduces the amount of expensive precious metals required while simultaneously improving hydrogen production and fuel-cell performance. (Nanowerk News) Catalysts are the “invisible engines” of hydrogen energy, governing both hydrogen production and electricity generation. Conventional catalysts are typically fabricated...
Scientists directly visualize the hidden spatial order of electrons in a quantum material?
Jan 25, 2026 Cryogenic 4D-STEM reveals how charge density waves form, fragment, and persist across a phase transition. (Nanowerk News) Electronic order in quantum materials often emerges not uniformly, but through subtle and complex patterns that vary from place to place. One prominent example is the charge density wave (CDW),...
Skin-inspired hydrogel enables self-powered strain sensing underwater and in extreme cold
Jan 25, 2026 A hydrogel engineered with cell-like particles mimicking skin tissue achieves 99.9% compressibility and ultralow energy loss while generating its own voltage to sense strain without batteries. (Nanowerk Spotlight) Hydrogels should be the ideal material for wearable sensors. These polymer networks, swollen with water to comprise up to...