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

Date Published
(Funded by the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the National Science Foundation)

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology have discovered a surprising feature in two-dimensional (2-D) magnets. Their finding is the first verification that a signal long thought to be due to vibrations in the lattice—the structure of the material itself—is actually due to a wave of electron spins.

(Funded by the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the National Science Foundation)

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology have discovered a surprising feature in two-dimensional (2-D) magnets. Their finding is the first verification that a signal long thought to be due to vibrations in the lattice—the structure of the material itself—is actually due to a wave of electron spins.

(Funded by the National Science Foundation)

There are many ways to build materials that have carbon-nanotube-based fibers, but combining nanotubes to make such materials can lead to a loss in important properties. So, scientists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have developed a technique that improves the electrical and mechanical properties of these materials by creating chemical crosslinks among the nanotubes.

(Funded by the National Science Foundation)

There are many ways to build materials that have carbon-nanotube-based fibers, but combining nanotubes to make such materials can lead to a loss in important properties. So, scientists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have developed a technique that improves the electrical and mechanical properties of these materials by creating chemical crosslinks among the nanotubes.

(Funded by the National Institutes of Health)

Researchers at Oregon State University have found that gene-infused nanoparticles used for combating disease work better when they include plant-based relatives of cholesterol, because their shape and structure help the genes get where they need to be inside cells. This discovery is important because many illnesses that can't be treated effectively with conventional drugs can be treated genetically – by delivering nucleic acids to diseased cells so they can make the correct proteinas needed for health.

(Funded by the National Institutes of Health)

Researchers at Oregon State University have found that gene-infused nanoparticles used for combating disease work better when they include plant-based relatives of cholesterol, because their shape and structure help the genes get where they need to be inside cells. This discovery is important because many illnesses that can't be treated effectively with conventional drugs can be treated genetically – by delivering nucleic acids to diseased cells so they can make the correct proteins needed for health.

(Funded by the National Science Foundation)

Researchers at North Carolina State University have verified that it is possible to engineer two-layered nanofibers consisting of an ordered row of alternating peptides. The researchers also have determined what makes these peptides automatically assemble into this pattern. This discovery raises the possibility of creating tailored "ABAB" peptide nanofibers for a variety of biomedical applications.

(Funded by the National Science Foundation)

Researchers at North Carolina State University have verified that it is possible to engineer two-layered nanofibers consisting of an ordered row of alternating peptides. The researchers also have determined what makes these peptides automatically assemble into this pattern. This discovery raises the possibility of creating tailored "ABAB" peptide nanofibers for a variety of biomedical applications.

(Funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation)

Electrical engineers and microbiologists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have created a device with electrically conductive protein nanowires (3 nanometers in diameter by 1–3 micrometers in length) produced by bacteria. The device uses these protein nanowires to create electricity from moisture in the air. The researchers say that this new technology could have significant implications for the future of renewable energy, climate change, and the future of medicine.

(Funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation)

Electrical engineers and microbiologists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have created a device with electrically conductive protein nanowires (3 nanometers in diameter by 1–3 micrometers in length) produced by bacteria. The device uses these protein nanowires to create electricity from moisture in the air. The researchers say that this new technology could have significant implications for the future of renewable energy, climate change, and the future of medicine.