Scientists create rechargeable swimming microrobots using oil and water

By combining oil drops with water containing a detergent-like substance, the scientists found they could produce artificial swimmers that are able to swim independently and even harvest energy to recharge. The oil droplets use fluctuating temperature changes in their surrounding…

Chemical reactions break free from energy barriers using flyby trajectories

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A new study shows that it is possible to use mechanical force to deliberately alter chemical reactions and increase chemical selectivity – a grand challenge of the field. The study led by University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researcher…

Unlocking radiation-free quantum technology with graphene

“Heavy fermions” are an appealing theoretical way to produce quantum entangled phenomena, but until recently have been observed mostly in dangerously radioactive compounds. A new paper shows it is possible to make them in subtly modified graphene

Cutting through noise for better solar cells

As society moves towards a renewable energy future, it’s crucial that solar panels convert light into electricity as efficiently as possible. Some state-of-the-art solar cells are close to the theoretical maximum of efficiency–and physicists from the University of Utah and…

Falling in line: The simple design and control of MOF electric flow

Osaka Prefecture University develops a method to design and control the path of electron flow in a polycrystalline material

Particles with ‘eyes’ allow a closer look at rotational dynamics

Tokyo, Japan – Colloids–mixtures of particles made from one substance, dispersed in another substance–crop up in numerous areas of everyday life, including cosmetics, food and dyes, and form important systems within our bodies. Understanding the behavior of colloids therefore has…

Researchers turned transparent calcite into artificial gold

Breakthrough in metamaterials: for the first time in the world, researchers at Tel Aviv University developed an innovative nanotechnology that transforms a transparent calcite nanoparticle into a sparkling gold-like particle. In other words, they turned the transparent particle into a…

VUMC Team Develops Potential Treatment for Life-threatening Microbial Inflammation

A cell-penetrating peptide developed by researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center can prevent, in an animal model, the often-fatal septic shock that can result from bacterial and viral infections. Their findings, published this week in Scientific Reports , could lead…

New research in protein sequencing poised to transform medicine

While DNA provides the genetic recipe book for biological form and function, it is the job of the body’s proteins to carry out the complex commands dictated by DNA’s genetic code. Stuart Lindsay, a researcher at the Biodesign Institute at…

Underground storage of carbon captured directly from air — green and economical

New study shows that geological storage of low-purity carbon dioxide mixed with oxygen and nitrogen from direct air capture is an environmentally friendly and economically viable approach to remove carbon from the atmosphere

Nanofibrous filters for PM2.5 filtration

In a paper published in NANO , the author reviewed many kinds of nanofibrous filters including the component, preparation process, and application performances to provide directional guidance for improvement of the air purification field. Poor air quality is worldwide recognized…

Promoting young talent in Chemistry: New research training group launched at MLU

The Research Training Group (RTG) 2670 “Beyond Amphiphilicity: Self-organisation of soft matter via multiple noncovalent interactions” has begun its work at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU). Amphiphilicity, a fundamental ordering principle for molecules, will be the starting point of the…

Ohio’s Sumit Sharma receives National Science Foundation CAREER award to study metallic nanoparticle

Sumit Sharma, assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering in Ohio University’s Russ College of Engineering and Technology, was recently awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) five-year, $511,902 grant to study the adsorption behavior of…