We’re all too familiar with footage of ruptured tankers or busted rigs dumping millions of litres of oil into the sea, coating shorelines and animals in crude sludge.
Many traditional methods of cleaning…
It’s the sun rather than nanoparticles in sunscreen that poses the real health risk.
Edson Soares
The sunny season has well and truly started, as has the daily summer ritual of applying sunscreen. So now is the perfect time to consider whether “nano sunscreens”, which contain UV filtering nanoparticles…
A combination of wax and coiling makes carbon nanotube muscles stronger than ever.
Science/AAAS
Just on a year ago my colleagues and I announced our discovery that carbon nanotube yarns could be made to twist and rotate at great speeds when electrically stimulated.
In this way we had created “artificial…
Diamond: more useful in the lab than on a finger.
Charlene/Flickr
Diamond is well known for its appeal as a gemstone. Perhaps less well known are some of its extreme material properties.
As well as being the hardest material in nature, diamond is very good at conducting…
The porous structure of metal-organic framework materials makes them perfect for storing and separating gases.
justus.thane
You may not immediately think of world records when you consider chemistry, but that’s exactly what some chemists are thinking about during their research. Many, working on something called metal-organic…
It mightn’t look like much, but graphene is one of the most exciting prospects in science today.
UTS/Lisa Aloisio
Imagine a material that is just one atom thick, 300 times stronger than steel, harder than diamond, a fantastic conductor of heat and electricity and super-flexible to boot.
This might sound like the…
Is that a nano-bot in your guns, or are you just pleased to see me?
jcoterhals
The idea of doctors deploying miniscule robots in your body to diagnose and treat medical conditions is closer to reality today with the development of artificial muscles small and strong enough to push…
Nano-silver can be found in everyday products such as these.
Friends of the Earth
The widespread use of nano-silver particles in household items such as toothbrushes, socks and shoe inserts is contributing to the growth of superbugs, according to a Friends of the Earth report released…
Graphene may have humble beginnings, but it’s becoming a major draw.
qwertyuiop
It inspired the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physics.
It’s the best thermal conductor we know of.
It’s a crystal stiffer than diamond, but able to stretch by 20% of its length, and can carry a current density…
Tiny but mighty: meet the enduring poster child of the nano-revolution.
EPA
As you read this, researchers around the world are slaving away furiously to develop stronger, smaller and more cost-effective materials for a range of potential uses.
But while there are many “nano-scale…
The Nanopatch has potential to change the way vaccines are delivered.
AIBN
A couple of facts:
1) At least 10% of the world’s population are “needle phobic”, which means they’re missing out on being vaccinated and/or have a horror of receiving jabs of any kind. Several studies…
Nanoparticles, as used in sunscreen, are readily absorbed by the body.
Tony Bartlett/AAP
For the public, the jury is still out on nanotechnology – the media simultaneously extols its promise and warns of the potential calamity facing humanity.
But what is it? How does it work? Is it dangerous…
