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

It's not enough to take antibiotic-resistant bacteria out of wastewater to eliminate the risks they pose to society. The bits they leave behind have to be destroyed, as well. Researchers at Rice University's Brown School of Engineering have developed a new strategy for "trapping and zapping" antibiotic-resistant genes, the pieces of bacteria that, even though their hosts are dead, can find their way into and boost the resistance of other bacteria. The researchers used molecular-imprinted graphitic carbon nitride nanosheets to absorb and degrade these genetic remnants in sewage system wastewater before they have the chance to invade and infect other bacteria.

Researchers at Stanford University have created an inverse design codebase that can help researchers explore different design methodologies to find optical and nanophotonic structures. This codebase has been used internally by the group to design an assortment of devices, and the group is making it available for other researchers to use.

Researchers at Stanford University have created an inverse design codebase that can help researchers explore different design methodologies to find optical and nanophotonic structures. This codebase has been used internally by the group to design an assortment of devices, and the group is making it available for other researchers to use.

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have identified how twisted graphene sheets behave and their stability at different sizes and temperatures. The scientists performed computer simulations at different temperatures for different sizes of graphene sheets and then used insights from these simulations to develop an analytical model to predict the number of local stable states and the critical temperature required to reach each of these states.

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have identified how twisted graphene sheets behave and their stability at different sizes and temperatures. The scientists performed computer simulations at different temperatures for different sizes of graphene sheets and then used insights from these simulations to develop an analytical model to predict the number of local stable states and the critical temperature required to reach each of these states.

For more than a decade, two-dimensional nanomaterials, such as graphene, have been touted as the key to making better microchips, batteries, and antennas. But a significant challenge remains: ensuring that these atom-thin building materials can be produced in bulk quantities without losing their quality. For one of the most promising new types of 2D nanomaterials, MXenes, that's no longer a problem. Researchers at Drexel University and the Materials Research Center in Ukraine have designed a system that can be used to make large quantities of the material while preserving its unique properties.

For more than a decade, two-dimensional nanomaterials, such as graphene, have been touted as the key to making better microchips, batteries, and antennas. But a significant challenge remains: ensuring that these atom-thin building materials can be produced in bulk quantities without losing their quality. For one of the most promising new types of 2D nanomaterials, MXenes, that's no longer a problem. Researchers at Drexel University and the Materials Research Center in Ukraine have designed a system that can be used to make large quantities of the material while preserving its unique properties.

Ultrathin carbon nanotube crystals could have wondrous uses, like converting waste heat into electricity with near-perfect efficiency, and Rice University engineers have taken a big step toward that goal. They turned a mob of unruly nanotubes into a well-ordered collective. Of their own accord, and by the billions, nanotubes were willingly lying down side by side, like dry spaghetti in a box. But the reason for that behavior has not been revealed – until now: Tiny parallel grooves in the filter paper — an artifact of the paper’s production process — cause the nanotube alignment.

Ultrathin carbon nanotube crystals could have wondrous uses, like converting waste heat into electricity with near-perfect efficiency, and Rice University engineers have taken a big step toward that goal. They turned a mob of unruly nanotubes into a well-ordered collective. Of their own accord, and by the billions, nanotubes were willingly lying down side by side, like dry spaghetti in a box. But the reason for that behavior has not been revealed – until now: Tiny parallel grooves in the filter paper — an artifact of the paper’s production process — cause the nanotube alignment.

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory have designed and synthesized chains of molecules with a precise sequence and length to efficiently protect 3-D DNA nanostructures from structural degradation under a variety of biomedically relevant conditions. They demonstrated how these "peptoid-coated DNA origami" have the potential to be used for delivering anti-cancer drugs and proteins, imaging biological molecules, and targeting cell-surface receptors implicated in cancer.