News from the NNI Community - Research Advances Funded by Agencies Participating in the NNI

Date Published
(Funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration)

Scientists at Clemson University have developed a new type of battery electrode made of silicon that can store more energy than traditional graphite electrodes in lithium-ion batteries. The new electrode uses layers of a carbon nanotube material, called Buckypaper, with silicon nanoparticles sandwiched between them.

(Funded by the National Science Foundation)

Using a device small enough to fit on the head of a pin, researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have gained new knowledge about the properties of polymer fibers at the nanoscale. This knowledge could inform the design and manufacture of products made up of random networks of filaments, such as robust filters designed to block foreign particles from entering our lungs.

(Funded by the National Science Foundation)

Using a device small enough to fit on the head of a pin, researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have gained new knowledge about the properties of polymer fibers at the nanoscale. This knowledge could inform the design and manufacture of products made up of random networks of filaments, such as robust filters designed to block foreign particles from entering our lungs.

(Funded by the National Science Foundation)

Researchers at Cornell University have used an ultrathin graphene “sandwich” to create a tiny magnetic field sensor that can operate over a greater temperature range than previous sensors, while also detecting miniscule changes in magnetic fields that might otherwise get lost within a larger magnetic background. 

(Funded by the National Science Foundation)

Researchers at Cornell University have used an ultrathin graphene “sandwich” to create a tiny magnetic field sensor that can operate over a greater temperature range than previous sensors, while also detecting miniscule changes in magnetic fields that might otherwise get lost within a larger magnetic background. 

(Funded by the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and the U.S. Department of Defense)

Researchers at the University of Washington School of Medicine and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle have demonstrated a new way to precisely target cells by distinguishing them from neighboring cells that look quite similar. The researchers have designed new nanoscale devices made of synthetic proteins that target a therapeutic agent only to cells with specific, predetermined combinations of cell surface markers.

(Funded by the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and the U.S. Department of Defense)

Researchers at the University of Washington School of Medicine and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle have demonstrated a new way to precisely target cells by distinguishing them from neighboring cells that look quite similar. The researchers have designed new nanoscale devices made of synthetic proteins that target a therapeutic agent only to cells with specific, predetermined combinations of cell surface markers.

(Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation)

Researchers at Cornell University have discovered a way to bind and stack nanoscale clusters of copper molecules that can self-assemble and mimic these complex biosystem structures at different length scales. The clusters provide a platform for developing new catalytic properties that extend beyond what traditional materials can offer.

(Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation)

Researchers at Cornell University have discovered a way to bind and stack nanoscale clusters of copper molecules that can self-assemble and mimic these complex biosystem structures at different length scales. The clusters provide a platform for developing new catalytic properties that extend beyond what traditional materials can offer.

(Funded by the National Institutes of Health)

Scientists have demonstrated that lipid-based nanoparticles carrying two sets of protein-making instructions have the potential to function as therapies for two genetic disorders. In one experiment, the payload-containing nanoparticles prompted the production of the missing clotting protein in mice that were models for hemophilia. In another test, the nanoparticles' cargo reduced the activation level of a gene that, when overactive, interferes with clearance of cholesterol from the bloodstream.