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Category: nanotechnology – Page 45

Nanostructures pave the way for advanced robotics—and mini dinosaurs

Researchers at the University of Sydney Nano Institute have made a significant advance in the field of molecular robotics by developing custom-designed and programmable nanostructures using DNA origami.

This innovative approach has potential across a range of applications, from targeted to responsive materials and energy-efficient optical signal processing. The method uses “DNA origami,” so-called as it uses the natural folding power of DNA, the building blocks of human life, to create new and useful biological structures.

As a proof-of-concept, the researchers made more than 50 , including a “nano-dinosaur,” a “dancing robot” and a mini-Australia that is 150 nanometers wide, a thousand times narrower than a human hair.

Bio Tech Dominates Research Schedule to Advance Space, Earth Industries

The Expedition 72 crew studied micro-algae and DNA-like nanomaterials on Tuesday to improve health in space and on Earth. The orbital residents also worked on cargo transfers and lab maintenance aboard the International Space Station.

NASA Flight Engineer Nick Hague began his day processing radiation-resistant samples of Arthrospira C micro-algae and stowing them in an incubator for analysis. The samples will be exposed to different light intensities to observe how they affect the micro-algae’s cell growth and oxygen production. Results may advance the development of spacecraft life support systems and fresh food production in space.

Afterward, Hague joined Commander Suni Williams of NASA for a different research session mixing water with samples of messenger RNA, or mRNA, and protein to create DNA-like nanomaterial products inside the Kibo laboratory module’s Life Science Glovebox. Flight Engineer Butch Wilmore then transferred the samples, exposed them to ultrasonic waves, and imaged them with a spectrophotometer to measure the intensity of light at different wavelengths and evaluate the quality of the nanomaterials. The samples will also be returned to Earth for further evaluation. Results may lead to improved therapies for Earth and space health conditions as well as advance the space economy.

Study finds ZnO nanorods achieve 98.3% Faraday efficiency in CO₂ reduction

Nano-ZnO is a potential catalyst material for carbon dioxide electrocatalytic reduction (CO2RR), but its effective Faraday efficiency (FE) is still below 90% and the current density is less than 300 mA cm-2, which is not enough to meet industrial requirements.

A new study published in Chem Catalysis reported on ZnO nanorods for electrocatalytic CO2RR, which after 500°C heat-treatment, achieved the highest vacancy content, the highest FECO of 98.3%, and a partial of 786.56 mA cm-2 in a 3 M KCl electrolyte.

The research was conducted by Prof. Wu Zhonghua and Dr. Xing Xueqing from the Institute of High Energy Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and Prof. Han Buxing from the Institute of Chemistry of CAS.

Synthetic Genes Engineered to Mimic how Cells Build Tissues and Structures

Advance paves the way for broad applications in medicine and biotech. Researchers from the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering and the University of Rome Tor Vergata in Italy have developed synthetic genes that function like the genes in living cells.

The artificial genes can build intracellular structures through a cascading sequence that builds self-assembling structures piece by piece. The approach is similar to building furniture with modular units, much like those found at IKEA. Using the same parts, one can build many different things and it’s easy to take the set apart and reconstruct the parts for something else. The discovery offers a path toward using a suite of simple building blocks that can be programmed to make complex biomolecular materials, such as nanoscale tubes from DNA tiles. The same components can also be programmed to break up the design for different materials.

The research study was recently published in Nature Communications and led by Elisa Franco, a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering and bioengineering at UCLA Samueli. Daniela Sorrentino, a postdoctoral scholar in Franco’s Dynamic Nucleic Acid Systems lab, is the study’s first author.

Comparative prospects of imaging methods for whole-brain mammalian connectomics

Neuroscience aficionados may enjoy my preprint that compares leading imaging technologies for whole-brain mammalian connectomics, now with major updates/improvements: Link: arxiv.org/abs/2405.

Mammalian whole-brain connectomes at nanoscale synaptic resolution are a crucial ingredient for holistic understanding of brain function. Imaging these connectomes at sufficient resolution to densely reconstruct cellular morphology and synapses represents a longstanding goal in neuroscience. Although the technologies needed to reconstruct whole-brain connectomes have not yet reached full maturity, they are advancing rapidly enough that the mouse brain might be within reach in the near future. Detailed exploration of these technologies is warranted to help plan projects with varying goals and requirements. Whole-brain human connectomes remain a more distant goal yet are worthy of consideration to orient large-scale neuroscience program plans. Here, we quantitatively compare existing and emerging imaging technologies that have potential to enable whole-brain mammalian connectomics.

Ion Superhighways: The Nanotech Breakthrough Powering Tomorrow’s Tech

Researchers have significantly accelerated ion movement using nanotechnology, potentially improving technologies from battery charging to biosensing.

This breakthrough at Washington State University and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory involves creating a nanochannel lined with molecules that attract ions, allowing them to move over ten times faster than before. This development could revolutionize energy storage and help detect environmental pollutants or neurological activities.

Breaking Speed Records With Nanoscience

Physicists develop new method to visualize magnetic nanostructures with high resolution

A new method enables researchers to analyze magnetic nanostructures with a high resolution. It was developed by researchers at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) and the Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics in Halle.

The new method achieves a resolution of around 70 nanometers, whereas normal light microscopes have a resolution of just 500 nanometers. This result is important for the development of new, energy-efficient storage technologies based on spin electronics. The team reports on its research in the current issue of the journal ACS Nano.

Normal optical microscopes are limited by the wavelength of light and details below around 500 nanometers cannot be resolved. The new method overcomes this limit by utilizing the anomalous Nernst effect (ANE) and a metallic nano-scale tip. ANE generates an electrical voltage in a magnetic metal that is perpendicular to the magnetization and a .

Ultra-compact optical design enhances virtual and augmented reality device cameras

Researchers from Seoul National University College of Engineering announced they have developed an optical design technology that dramatically reduces the volume of cameras with a folded lens system utilizing “metasurfaces,” a next-generation nano-optical device.

By arranging metasurfaces on the so that light can be reflected and moved around in the glass substrate in a folded manner, the researchers have realized a with a thickness of 0.7mm, which is much thinner than existing refractive lens systems. The research was published on Oct. 30 in the journal Science Advances.

Traditional cameras are designed to stack multiple glass lenses to refract light when capturing images. While this structure provided excellent high-quality images, the thickness of each lens and the wide spacing between lenses increased the overall bulk of the camera, making it difficult to apply to devices that require ultra-compact cameras, such as virtual and augmented reality (VR-AR) devices, smartphones, endoscopes, drones, and more.