| Every age in the history of human civilisation has a signature material, from the Stone Age, to the Bronze and Iron Ages. We might even call today’s information-driven society the Silicon Age. | |
| Since the 1960s, silicon nanostructures, the building-blocks of microchips, have supercharged the development of electronics, communications, manufacturing, medicine, and more. | |
| How small are these nanostructures? Very, very small – you could fit at least 3,000 silicon transistors onto the tip of a human hair. But there is a limit: below about 5 nanometres (5 millionths of a millimetre), it is hard to improve the performance of silicon devices any further. | |
| So if we are about to exhaust the potential of silicon nanomaterials, what will be our next signature material? That’s where “atomaterials” come in. | |
What are atomaterials? |
|
| “Atomaterials” is short for “atomic materials”, so called because their properties depend on the precise configuration of their atoms. It is a new but rapidly developing field. | |
| One example is graphene, which is made of carbon atoms. Unlike diamond, in which the carbon atoms form a rigid three-dimensional structure, graphene is made of single layer of carbon atoms, bonded together in a two-dimensional honeycomb lattice. | |
| Diamond’s rigid structure is the reason for its celebrated hardness and longevity, making it the perfect material for high-end drill bits and expensive jewellery. In contrast, the two-dimensional form of carbon atoms in graphene allows electron travelling frictionless at a high speed giving ultrahigh conductivity and the outstanding in plane mechanical strength. Thus, graphene has broad applications in medicines, electronics, energy storage, light processing, and water filtration. | |
| Using lasers, we can fashion these atomic structures into miniaturised devices with exceptional performance. |
Image Credit: Swinburne
News This Week
Pope Leo Urges Global Response to Congo’s Deadliest Ebola Outbreak
Pope Leo called for international action to address the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The epidemic has claimed over 2,500 lives and is the nation's largest recorded outbreak. The Pope emphasized [...]
Is there a summer COVID-19 surge this year? Yep, it’s ramping up again
Hantavirus. Ebola. West Nile. Measles. And, of course, cyclospora — that stomach parasite making people miserable across the country. Americans have plenty to worry about this summer. But remember COVID-19? It may not be [...]
Natural Compound in Broccoli Could Help Treat a Rare, Incurable Neurological Disease
Swinburne researchers have discovered how broccoli could help treat an extremely rare and incurable disease that affects only about 200 Australians. A naturally occurring compound in broccoli is being investigated as a possible treatment [...]
Antibody recycling, FcRn and the next generation of biologics
FcRn plays a central role in regulating the half-life of IgG antibodies and albumin, making it a critical target in both antibody engineering and autoimmune disease therapy. This article explores the biology of FcRn, [...]
Ebola kills 2,300 in three months with no vaccine available for Congo’s deadliest ever outbreak
It’s Congo’s 17th outbreak, with a toll that has eclipsed that of the country’s 2018-2020 outbreak when 2,299 deaths out of 3,481 cases were recorded. The latest data shows 101 new cases and 33 [...]
Beyond an Agency: How AI, Creativity and Commercialization Are Converging Into a New Growth Model
At a moment when AI is forcing a fundamental rethink of how work gets done, the life sciences industry is grappling with a deeper question: what role should human creativity play in an increasingly [...]
New $60 Blood Test Detects Lung Cancer Without Costly DNA Sequencing
A simple blood test that detects chemical changes in DNA identified more than 90% of stage 2-4 lung cancers in an early study, without relying on costly DNA sequencing. Researchers at Tel Aviv University and collaborating [...]
Reducing drug development failures with human-relevant models and AI
Professor Joseph C. Wu of Stanford University explains how stem cells, human-relevant models and AI are helping researchers predict which drug candidates are most likely to succeed before clinical trials. Researchers now have access [...]
Half of vaccines are binned – ‘fridge-free’ versions could change that
Vaccines that do not need to be kept cool in a fridge have been successfully trialed in patients for the first time, say UK scientists. Currently, most vaccines need to be refrigerated or frozen [...]
Mushroom Mystery: The Fungus That Makes People See Tiny Humans
A mushroom sold in markets and served in restaurants in Southwest China has an unusual warning attached to it: cook it thoroughly, or you may start seeing tiny people. For decades, people have reported [...]
Artificial intelligence used to design brand new viruses
Artificial Intelligence has been used to design brand new viruses that are fully functional and can replicate in the laboratory, say US researchers. It is the first time whole genomes have been successfully designed [...]
Molecular Manufacturing: The Future of Nanomedicine – New book from NanoappsMedical Inc.
This book explores the revolutionary potential of atomically precise manufacturing technologies to transform global healthcare, as well as practically every other sector across society. This forward-thinking volume examines how envisaged Factory@Home systems might enable the cost-effective [...]
Moderna kicks off Phase I Ebola trial as Africa readies itself for research
If the Phase I trial is successful, Moderna plans to quickly initiate Phase II and Phase III trials of its Ebola vaccine. Moderna has initiated a Phase I trial of its mRNA Ebola vaccine [...]
3D Human Brain Tissue Model Replicates Alzheimer’s Pathology
Summary: Researchers introduced a highly reproducible three-dimensional human brain tissue model capable of replicating complex neurodegenerative processes in Alzheimer’s disease. Developed over nine years using human stem cells, the self-organizing tissue spheroids integrate functional neurons, [...]
A Common Sugar May Loosen Cancer Cells and Help Them Spread
Chemotherapy may kill most ovarian cancer cells, but the few that survive can turn dangerously active. By releasing fructose, they may help nearby tumor cells break free and spread. Researchers at The Wistar Institute [...]
COVID-19 can wake up dormant viruses in the body, large study confirms
Virus reactivations by SARS-CoV-2 could worsen initial symptoms and increase risk of Long Covid. Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, scientists noticed that a SARS-CoV-2 infection can “wake up” other, dormant viruses already present in [...]
