Bottled water can contain hundreds of thousands of previously uncounted tiny plastic bits

A new microscopic technique zeroes in on the poorly explored world of nanoplastics, which can pass into blood, cells and your brain

11-Jan-2024 - In recent years, there has been rising concern that tiny particles known as microplastics are showing up basically everywhere on Earth, from polar ice to soil, drinking water and food. Formed when plastics break down into progressively smaller bits, these particles are being consumed by humans ...

New membrane separates small organic molecules

The electrical charge is what makes the difference

05-Mar-2020 - A new membrane developed at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht (HZG) separates small dye particles or drug substances not only by size but also by their electrical charge. This additional function enables organic molecules with lateral dimensions of one to two nanometres to be such high-efficiently ...

Tiny fibers create unseen plastic pollution

18-Feb-2019 - While the polyester leisure suit was a 1970s mistake, polyester and other synthetic fibers like nylon are still around and are a major contributor to the microplastics load in the environment, according to a Penn State materials scientist, who suggests switching to biosynthetic fibers to solve ...

Color me purple, or red, or green, or ...

10-Nov-2017 - Imagine a miniature device that suffuses each room in your house with a different hue of the rainbow--purple for the living room, perhaps, blue for the bedroom, green for the kitchen. A team led by scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has, for the first time, ...

Tiny lasers from a gallery of whispers

21-Sep-2017 - Whispering gallery mode (WGM) resonators are used to make tiny micro-lasers, sensors, switches, routers and other devices. These tiny structures rely on a phenomenon similar to an effect observed in circular galleries, such as in some cathedrals or museums, where sound waves travel across the ...

Tiny tool can play big role against tuberculosis

21-May-2012 - A tiny filter could have a big impact around the world in the fight against tuberculosis. Using the traditional microscope-based diagnosis method as a starting point, a University of Florida lung disease specialist and colleagues in Brazil have devised a way to detect more cases of the bacterial ...

Building a smaller, lighter future: Understanding polymer behaviors below 1 nanometer

13-Oct-2010 - Knowing how to build nanosized assemblies of polymers (long molecular chains) holds the key to improving a broad range of industrial processes, from the production of nanofibers, filters, and new materials to the manufacture of low-energy, nanoscale circuits and devices. A recent paper in Nature ...

New technique enables drugs tests via exhaled breath

20-May-2010 - A new study from Karolinska Institutet presents a new technique that makes drug testing possible through exhaled air for the first time. By examining people who had received emergency care for an amphetamine overdose, the researchers found that in all cases there were traces of amphetamine and ...

Sculptured materials allow multiple channel plasmonic sensors

12-Nov-2009 - Sensors, communications devices and imaging equipment that use a prism and a special form of light -- a surface plasmon-polariton -- may incorporate multiple channels or redundant applications if manufacturers use sculptured thin films. "Everyone uses surface plasmon resonance sensors. They are ...

Tracing ultra-fine dust

06-Oct-2009 - Limit values for fine dust emissions are based on total particle weight. It is the ultra-fine particles, however, that are particularly harmful to health. A new technique separates them by size and identifies their composition - directly where they arise. Fine particle emissions have been the ...