Latest Nanotechnology News

New 'metamaterial' practical for optical advances
Thursday, May 17, 2012 - 13:55

Researchers have taken a step toward overcoming a key obstacle in commercializing "hyperbolic metamaterials," structures that could bring optical advances including ultrapowerful microscopes, computers and solar cells. The researchers have shown how to create the metamaterials without the traditional silver or gold previously required, said Alexandra Boltasseva, a Purdue University assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering.

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NIST Contributes to Discovery of Novel Quantum Spin-Liquid
Monday, May 14, 2012 - 15:50

An international team of researchers including scientists from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has found what may be the first known example of a "spin-orbital liquid," a substance in a never-before-seen quantum mechanical state.

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In metallic glasses, researchers find a few new atomic structures
Friday, May 11, 2012 - 11:59

Drawing on powerful computational tools and a state-of-the-art scanning transmission electron microscope, a team of University of Wisconsin-Madison and Iowa State University materials science and engineering researchers has discovered a new nanometer-scale atomic structure in solid metallic materials known as metallic glasses.

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Nanotube 'sponge' has potential in oil spill cleanup
Thursday, May 10, 2012 - 13:14

A carbon nanotube sponge that can soak up oil in water with unparalleled efficiency has been developed with help from computational simulations performed at the Department of Energy's (DOE's) Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

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Brighter, Smaller Probes to Uncover the Secret Lives of Proteins
Tuesday, May 8, 2012 - 08:49

Imagine tracking a deer through a forest by clipping a radio transmitter to its ear and monitoring the deer’s location remotely. Now imagine that transmitter is the size of a house, and you understand the problem researchers may encounter when they try to use nanoparticles to track proteins in live cells.

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Nanoparticles deliver high doses of antibiotics directly to drug-resistant bacteria
Sunday, May 6, 2012 - 07:38

Over the past several decades, scientists have faced challenges in developing new antibiotics even as bacteria have become increasingly resistant to existing drugs. One strategy that might combat such resistance would be to overwhelm bacterial defenses by using highly targeted nanoparticles to deliver large doses of existing antibiotics.

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