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

Researchers at NIST have devised a way to eliminate a long-standing problem affecting our understanding of both living cells and batteries. When a solid and an electrically conducting liquid come into contact, a thin sheet of charge forms between them. Although this interface, known as the electrical double layer (EDL), is only a few atoms thick, it plays a central role in a wide range of systems, such as keeping living cells nourished and maintaining the operation of batteries, fuel cells, and certain types of capacitors. The NIST researchers have now mapped variations in voltage across a sheet of EDL with nanoscale precision by using a thin membrane of graphene.

Researchers at the City University of New York and Northwestern University have created a 4-D printer that can construct precisely designed nanopatterned surfaces that are decorated with delicate organic or biological molecules. The surfaces could be used in drug research, biosensor development, and advanced optics.

Researchers at the City University of New York and Northwestern University have created a 4-D printer that can construct precisely designed nanopatterned surfaces that are decorated with delicate organic or biological molecules. The surfaces could be used in drug research, biosensor development, and advanced optics.

Scientists at Rice University and collaborators in Taiwan and China have successfully grown atom-thick sheets of hexagonal boron nitride as two-inch diameter crystals across a wafer. Surprisingly, they achieved this long-sought goal of making perfectly ordered crystals of hexagonal boron nitride by taking advantage of disorder among the meandering steps on a copper substrate.

Scientists at Rice University and collaborators in Taiwan and China have successfully grown atom-thick sheets of hexagonal boron nitride as two-inch diameter crystals across a wafer. Surprisingly, they achieved this long-sought goal of making perfectly ordered crystals of hexagonal boron nitride by taking advantage of disorder among the meandering steps on a copper substrate.

Ever since graphene's discovery in 2004, scientists have looked for ways to put this 2D material to work. Last year, scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory developed a multitasking graphene device that switches from a superconductor, which efficiently conducts electricity, to an insulator, which resists the flow of electric current, and back again to a superconductor. Now, the scientists have tapped into the graphene system's talent for juggling not just two properties, but three: superconducting, insulating, and a type of magnetism called ferromagnetism.

Ever since graphene's discovery in 2004, scientists have looked for ways to put this 2D material to work. Last year, scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory developed a multitasking graphene device that switches from a superconductor, which efficiently conducts electricity, to an insulator, which resists the flow of electric current, and back again to a superconductor. Now, the scientists have tapped into the graphene system's talent for juggling not just two properties, but three: superconducting, insulating, and a type of magnetism called ferromagnetism.

Researchers from the University of South Australia, McMaster University in Canada, and Texas A&M University have shown that curcumin can be delivered effectively into human cells via nanoparticles. The researchers have shown in animal experiments that nanoparticles containing curcumin not only prevents cognitive deterioration but also reverses the damage. This finding paves the way for clinical development trials for Alzheimer’s disease.

Researchers from the University of South Australia, McMaster University in Canada, and Texas A&M University have shown that curcumin can be delivered effectively into human cells via nanoparticles. The researchers have shown in animal experiments that nanoparticles containing curcumin not only prevents cognitive deterioration but also reverses the damage. This finding paves the way for clinical development trials for Alzheimer’s disease.

Scientists at Rice University, Biola University, and the Texas A&M Health Science Center have demonstrated that molecular nanomachines that spin up to 3 million times per second can target diseased cells and kill them in minutes. The nanomachines could be used to control parasites and treat skin cancer.