Nanotube-based sensors can be implanted under the skin for a year

05-Nov-2013 - Nitric oxide (NO) is one of the most important signaling molecules in living cells, carrying messages within the brain and coordinating immune system functions. In many cancerous cells, levels are perturbed, but very little is known about how NO behaves in both healthy and cancerous ...

Elemental bones

Bone samples could be the ultimate biomarker for environmental pollution

18-Jun-2010 - Exposure to chemical pollutants is of growing concern to regulators, health workers, and environmentalist groups alike. Now, researchers in the US and Russia have demonstrated that samples of human bone can act as a biological marker for dozens of metals and toxic elements across the periodic ...

Tiny sensors tucked into cell phones could map airborne toxins in real time

20-May-2010 - A tiny silicon chip that works a bit like a nose may one day detect dangerous airborne chemicals and alert emergency responders through the cell phone network. If embedded in many cell phones, its developers say, the new type of sensor could map the location and extent of hazards like gas leaks ...

Seeing moire in graphene

03-May-2010 - Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Georgia Institute of Technology have demonstrated that atomic scale moiré patterns, an interference pattern that appears when two or more grids are overlaid slightly askew, can be used to measure how sheets of ...

Cell phones that protect against deadly chemicals? Why not?

Crowdsourcing cell phones to detect chemicals

15-Apr-2010 - Do you carry a cell phone? Today, chances are it's called a "smartphone" and it came with a three-to-five megapixel lens built-in—not to mention an MP3 player, GPS or even a bar code scanner. This 'Swiss-Army-knife' trend represents the natural progression of technology—as chips become ...

New method could revolutionize dating of ancient treasures

30-Mar-2010 - Scientists described development of a new method to determine the age of ancient mummies, old artwork, and other relics without causing damage to these treasures of global cultural heritage. Reporting at the 239th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS), they said it could allow ...

Nanotechnologists from Penn collaborate to form near-frictionless diamond material

03-Mar-2010 - Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and IBM Research-Zürich have fabricated an ultra sharp, diamond-like carbon tip possessing such high strength that it is 3,000 times more wear-resistant at the nanoscale than silicon. The end result is a ...

Designer molecule detects tiny amounts of cyanide, then glows

26-Oct-2009 - A small molecule designed to detect cyanide in water samples works quickly, is easy to use, and glows under ultraviolet or "black" light. Although the fluorescent molecule is not yet ready for market, its Indiana University Bloomington creators report in the Journal of the American Chemical ...

Tiny test tube experiment shows reaction of melting materials at the nano scale

19-Oct-2009 - Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin have conducted a basic chemistry experiment in what is perhaps the world's smallest test tube, measuring a thousandth the diameter of a human hair. The nano-scale test tube is so small that a high-power electron microscope was required to see the ...

New material could expand applications and lower costs for solid oxide fuel cells

05-Oct-2009 - A new ceramic material described in the journal Science could help expand the applications for solid oxide fuel cells - devices that generate electricity directly from a wide range of liquid or gaseous fuels without the need to separate hydrogen. Though the long-term durability of the new mixed ...