Nanotechnology

Solar-Powered Proteins Harnessed to Filter Harmful Antibiotics from Water

Cincinnati, OH (Scicasts) – New research, just published, details how University of Cincinnati researchers have developed and tested a solar-powered nano filter that is able to remove harmful carcinogens and antibiotics from water sources – lakes and rivers – at a significantly higher rate than the currently used filtering technology made of activated carbon.

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New Type of Solar Structure Cools Buildings in Full Sunlight

Stanford, CA (Scicasts) – A Stanford team has designed an entirely new form of cooling panel that works even when the sun is shining. Such a panel could vastly improve the daylight cooling of buildings, cars and other structures by radiating sunlight back into the chilly vacuum of space.

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Chemical processes can be activated by light without the need for bulk heating of a material through a process developed by researchers at Rice University. The technique involves coating nanorods with thermophilic enzymes that are activated at high temperatures. Lighting the plasmonic gold nanorod causes highly localized heating and activates the enzyme.  Image: Lori Pretzer/Rice University

Scientists Use Light to Remotely Trigger Biochemical Reactions

Houston, TX (Scicasts) – Since Edison's first bulb, heat has been a mostly undesirable byproduct of light. Now researchers at Rice University are turning light into heat at the point of need, on the nanoscale, to trigger biochemical reactions remotely on demand.

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Members of Kan Wang's research team gather in a Hach Hall meeting area dedicated to the late Victor Lin of Iowa State University and the Ames Laboratory. From left to right are Wang, a professor of agronomy; Justin Valenstein, a doctoral student in chemistry; Susana Martin-Ortigosa, a post-doctoral research associate in Wang's lab; and Brian Trewyn, an associate scientist in chemistry. Image: Photo by Bob Elbert.

Nanoparticle Opens Window on Future Gene Editing Technologies

Ames, IA (Scicasts) –  The scientific and technological literature is abuzz with nanotechnology and its manufacturing and medical applications. But it is in an area with a less glitzy aura-plant sciences-where nanotechnology advancements are contributing dramatically to agriculture.



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New approach is a promising first step toward the development of tiny devices that harvest electrical energy from everyday tasks. Image: Berkeley Lab

Scientists Generate Electricity From Viruses

Berkeley, CA (Scicasts) – Imagine charging your phone as you walk, thanks to a paper-thin generator embedded in the sole of your shoe. This futuristic scenario is now a little closer to reality. [video]

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Researchers Create a Nano-sized Photocatalyst for Artificial Photosynthesis

Berkeley, CA (OBBeC) - For millions of years, green plants have employed photosynthesis to capture energy from sunlight and convert it into electrochemical energy. A goal of scientists has been to develop an artificial version of photosynthesis that can be used to produce liquid fuels from carbon dioxide and water.

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