From an article by Michael Berger at Nanowerk: The discovery of quasicrystals three decades ago unveiled a class of matter that exhibits long-range order but lacks translational periodicity (Dan Shechtman was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the discovery of quasicrystals in 2011). Owing to their unique structures, quasicrystals possess many unusual and useful properties. Bulk quasicrystals [...]
We have frequently cited examples of the artificial molecular machines that can be built from DNA. An open question is whether these prototype molecular machines can be improved toward practical applications. For example, can simple machines for manipulating molecules be improved to the point of implementing atomically precise manufacturing? A recent publication provides an example [...]
CCTV America’s May Lee reports: The search for the fountain of youth is going high-tech as more procedures are being developed. Now there are more options to remove fat, tighten skin and smooth wrinkles without going under the knife. Demand for high-tech, surgery-free procedures are on the rise. In 2015, of the more [...]
Some of the world's most important discoveries – penicillin, vulcanized rubber and Velcro, to name a few – were made by accident. In fact, it's been said that upward of half of all scientific discoveries are by chance. Add vortex ring freezing to that long list of "accidents." Duo An, a doctoral student in the [...]
From Nanowerk News: Researchers at the University of Tokyo used MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems) technology to produce spherical vesicles (asymmetric giant lipid vesicles/liposomes) surrounded by a membrane that, like the membrane of our cells, has an inner and outer layer composed of different phospholipids. In contrast to conventional methods of creating vesicles, this new [...]
From an article at www.kurzweilai.net: Could lead to high-speed, energy-efficient neuromorphic computers for accelerated cognitive computing. Scientists at IBM Research in Zurich have developed artificial neurons that emulate how neurons spike (fire). The goal is to create energy-efficient, high-speed, ultra-dense integrated neuromorphic (brain-like) technologies for applications in cognitive computing, such as unsupervised learning for detecting and [...]
From an article in New Scientist by By Joshua Sokol: Experiments are under way to mimic possible life-forming processes at alkaline vents on the sea floor, and perhaps elsewhere in the solar system In a collection of glass jars at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab, Michael Russell’s team is trying to recreate the moment before life on [...]
From an article at kurzweilai.net: University of California, Berkeley engineers have designed and built millimeter-scale device wireless, batteryless “neural dust” sensors and implanted them in muscles and peripheral nerves of rats to make in vivoelectrophysiological recordings. The new technology opens the door to “electroceuticals” — bioelectronic methods to monitor and record wireless electromyogram (EMG) signals from muscle membranes [...]
From an article at Phys.org: Australian cancer researchers have developed a highly promising nanomedicine that could improve treatment for pancreatic cancer – the most deadly cancer in Australia. Australian cancer researchers have developed a highly promising technology to deliver gene-silencing drugs to treat pancreatic cancer – the most chemo-resistant and deadly cancer in Australia. When [...]
Many lower organisms retain the miraculous ability to regenerate form and function of almost any tissue after injury. Humans share many of our genes with these organisms, but our capacity for regeneration is limited. Scientists at the MDI Biological Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine, are studying the genetics of these organisms to find out how [...]
