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

Researchers at Iowa State University, Northwestern University, and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory have used high-resolution printing technology and the unique properties of graphene to make low-cost biosensors to monitor food safety and livestock health. The sensors can detect histamine, an allergen and indicator of spoiled fish and meat, down to 3.41 parts per million. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has set histamine guidelines of 50 parts per million in fish, making the sensors more than sensitive enough to track food freshness and safety.

Researchers at Iowa State University, Northwestern University, and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory have used high-resolution printing technology and the unique properties of graphene to make low-cost biosensors to monitor food safety and livestock health. The sensors can detect histamine, an allergen and indicator of spoiled fish and meat, down to 3.41 parts per million. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has set histamine guidelines of 50 parts per million in fish, making the sensors more than sensitive enough to track food freshness and safety.

Researchers at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology have developed a new method to improve the detection ability of nanoscale chemical imaging using atomic force microscopy. These improvements reduce the noise that is associated with the microscope, increasing the precision and range of samples that can be studied.

Researchers at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology have developed a new method to improve the detection ability of nanoscale chemical imaging using atomic force microscopy. These improvements reduce the noise that is associated with the microscope, increasing the precision and range of samples that can be studied.

In recent years, researchers have shown that boron can make interesting nanostructures, including two-dimensional borophene and a buckyball-like hollow cage structure called borospherene. Now, researchers from Brown University and Tsinghua University have added another boron nanostructure to the list. They have shown that clusters of 18 boron atoms and three atoms of lanthanide elements form a cage-like structure unlike anything they have ever seen.

In recent years, researchers have shown that boron can make interesting nanostructures, including two-dimensional borophene and a buckyball-like hollow cage structure called borospherene. Now, researchers from Brown University and Tsinghua University have added another boron nanostructure to the list. They have shown that clusters of 18 boron atoms and three atoms of lanthanide elements form a cage-like structure unlike anything they have ever seen.

A research team led by the U.S. Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory has used a simple process to implant atoms precisely into the top layers of ultra-thin crystals, yielding two-sided structures with different chemical compositions. The resulting materials, known as Janus structures, may prove useful in developing energy and information technologies.

A research team led by the U.S. Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory has used a simple process to implant atoms precisely into the top layers of ultra-thin crystals, yielding two-sided structures with different chemical compositions. The resulting materials, known as Janus structures, may prove useful in developing energy and information technologies.

Scientists at Michigan State University have designed and fabricated a remote forest-fire detection and alarm system powered by the movement of trees in the wind. The device generates electrical power by harvesting energy from the sporadic movement of the tree branches from which it hangs. It consists of two cylindrical sleeves that fit within one another. As the two sleeves move out of sync, the intermittent loss of contact generates electricity, and the device stores its sporadically generated electrical current in a carbon-nanotube-based micro supercapacitor.

Scientists at Michigan State University have designed and fabricated a remote forest-fire detection and alarm system powered by the movement of trees in the wind. The device generates electrical power by harvesting energy from the sporadic movement of the tree branches from which it hangs. It consists of two cylindrical sleeves that fit within one another. As the two sleeves move out of sync, the intermittent loss of contact generates electricity, and the device stores its sporadically generated electrical current in a carbon-nanotube-based micro supercapacitor.