News by Subject Chemistry & Physics

Influenza is a highly contagious respiratory disease that may cause a serious outbreak at any time. Here, an Osaka University-led research team developed a new nanosensor to detect single flu virus particles in a variety of samples. The method is quick, simple, and does not require specific training or expertise. This could help clinicians and public health agencies to control nascent flu outbreaks.

SEAS researchers have developed a so-called metacorrector, a single-layer surface of nanostructures that can correct chromatic aberrations across the visible spectrum and can be incorporated into commercial optical systems, from simple lenses to high-end microscopes.

Scientists from ITMO University have proposed a new technology for creating optical micro-waveguides using inkjet printing. Using this method it is possible to quickly create waveguides with the necessary parameters without expensive equipment and complex procedures. The new technology is optimized for the production of optical elements on an industrial scale. The results are published in Advanced Optical Materials ?n 20th November 2018.

Using the method of micromagnetic simulation, scientists have found the magnetic parameters and operating modes for the experimental implementation of the fast racetrack memory module running on the spin current. The information carrier in the new type of memory will be the skyrmionium that allows storing more data and read them faster. An article about that is published in "Scientific Reports" journal.

Sustainable method to neutralize poisonous carbon monoxide named 'nano-raspberry' was developed by the NITech scientists, which is a raspberry-shaped nanoparticle capable of losing the most potent toxicity of carbon monoxide.

One of the body's largest macromolecules is the machinery that gloms onto DNA and transcribes it into mRNA, the blueprint for proteins. But the molecule, TFIID, is complex with lots of floppy appendages, which makes it hard to obtain a clear picture of its structure. Using state-of-the-art cryo-electron microscopy detectors and computer analysis, UC Berkeley scientists have captured unprecedented detail of how TFIID's structure changes as it binds to DNA and recruits other proteins.

Gold nanoparticles, which act like 'nanolenses,' concentrate the energy produced by the extremely short pulse of a femtosecond laser to create a nanoscale incision on the surface of the eye's retina cells. This technology, which preserves cell integrity, can be used to effectively inject drugs or genes into specific areas of the eye, offering new hope to people with glaucoma, retinitis or macular degeneration.

Steerable electro-evanescent optical refractor (SEEOR) chips take laser light in the mid-wavelength infrared (MWIR) as an input and steers the beam at the output in two dimensions without the need for mechanical devices.