rance is clamping down on a common food additive that has been shown to be carcinogenic in animal studies. The ban of titanium dioxide, announced by the French government last month, follows a review that could not rule out human cancer risks. The ban is just the latest chapter in a long-running debate on [...]
Today’s societies critically depend on electronic systems. Past spectacular cyber-attacks have clearly demonstrated the vulnerability of existing systems and the need to prevent such attacks in the future. The majority of available cyber-defenses concentrate on protecting the software part of electronic systems or their communication interfaces. However, manufacturing technology advancements and the increasing hardware [...]
Researchers of the Nanoscience Center (NSC) at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland, and in the Xiamen University, China, have discovered how copper particles at the nanometre scale operate in modifying a carbon–oxygen bond when ketone molecules turn into alcohol molecules. Modification of the carbon–oxygen and carbon–carbon bonds found in organic molecules is an important [...]
Cells in the body are wired like computer chips to direct signals that instruct how they function, research suggests (Nature Communications, “The cell-wide web coordinates cellular processes by directing site-specific Ca2+ flux across cytoplasmic nanocourses”). Unlike a fixed circuit board, however, cells can rapidly rewire their communication networks to change their behaviour. The discovery [...]
We may be able to detect cancer soon by simply peeing on a stick. - Cancer is an aberrant function of a normal cell, where the regulators of that cell's dividing are broken and the cell starts to divide without regulation. Left to its own devices, that dividing without regulation will overcome the [...]
Microcontaminants place a considerable burden on our water courses, but removing them from wastewater requires considerable technical resources. Now, ETH researchers have developed an approach that allows the efficient removal of these problematic substances. In our everyday lives, we all use a multitude of chemical substances, including cosmetics, medications, contraceptive pills, plant fertilisers [...]
New methods of arranging silver nanowires make them more durable, shows a study by KAUST. These nanowires form flexible, transparent conductive layers that can be used for improved solar cells, strain sensors and next-generation mobile phones. Applying nanotechnology in electronic devices requires rigorous testing of individual tiny components to ensure they will stand up to [...]
A desire for a simpler, cheaper way to do common laboratory tests for medical diagnoses and to avoid "washing the dishes" led University of Connecticut researchers to develop a new technology that reduces cost and time. Their pipette-based technology could also help make certain medical testing available in rural or remote areas where [...]
“The most crucial result of this work is the correlation between form and function in supercapacitor materials,” states first author Dina Ibrahim Abouelamaiem. She elaborates that “our research is driven by the need for a greener future and improved energy systems”, which is why their Sustainable Energy Fuels paper focuses on understanding how the [...]
Prof. Dr. Matthias Karg’s group "Colloids and Nanooptics" at the Institute of Physical Chemistry has developed a simple yet precise method for producing extremely ordered particle layers. The group is using miniature, soft and deformable spherical polymer beads with a hydrogel-like structure. Hydrogels are basically water swollen, three-dimensional systems. For instance, hydrogels are commonly [...]
