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

Nitric oxide is an important signaling molecule in the body, with a role in building nervous system connections that contribute to learning and memory. It also functions as a messenger in the cardiovascular and immune systems. But it has been difficult for researchers to study exactly what its role is in these systems and how it functions. Now, a team of scientists and engineers at MIT and elsewhere has found a way of generating the gas at precisely targeted locations inside the body. The team's solution uses an electric voltage to drive the reaction that produces nitric oxide. The team's key achievement was finding a way for this reaction to be operated efficiently and selectively at the nanoscale. 

Researchers at Cornell University have developed a new imaging technique that is fast and sensitive enough to observe highly correlated electron spin patterns, called critical spin fluctuations, in two-dimensional magnets. This real-time imaging allows researchers to control the fluctuations and switch magnetism via a "passive" mechanism that could eventually lead to more energy-efficient magnetic storage devices.

Researchers at Cornell University have developed a new imaging technique that is fast and sensitive enough to observe highly correlated electron spin patterns, called critical spin fluctuations, in two-dimensional magnets. This real-time imaging allows researchers to control the fluctuations and switch magnetism via a "passive" mechanism that could eventually lead to more energy-efficient magnetic storage devices.

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.