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

Researchers have unlocked the secret to one of the most useful nanostructures: the five-fold twin. Nanomaterials with this structure – the cross-section of which looks like a pie sliced into five symmetrical pieces – are used in medical research for imaging and tracking cancerous tumors and in electronics, where they are valued for their mechanical strength. The researchers discovered two different mechanisms for forming five-fold twinned nanostructures, both of which are shaped by the accumulation and elimination of strain toward an ideal shape that eliminates all strain.

Researchers have unlocked the secret to one of the most useful nanostructures: the five-fold twin. Nanomaterials with this structure – the cross-section of which looks like a pie sliced into five symmetrical pieces – are used in medical research for imaging and tracking cancerous tumors and in electronics, where they are valued for their mechanical strength. The researchers discovered two different mechanisms for forming five-fold twinned nanostructures, both of which are shaped by the accumulation and elimination of strain toward an ideal shape that eliminates all strain.

Researchers at Wake Forest University have created a new, carbon-neutral process that uses silver diphosphide nanocrystals as a novel catalyst to convert carbon dioxide pollution from manufacturing plants to a material called syngas, from which liquid fuel is made. The new catalyst allows the conversion of carbon dioxide into fuel with minimal energy loss, compared to the current state-of-the-art process.

Researchers at Wake Forest University have created a new, carbon-neutral process that uses silver diphosphide nanocrystals as a novel catalyst to convert carbon dioxide pollution from manufacturing plants to a material called syngas, from which liquid fuel is made. The new catalyst allows the conversion of carbon dioxide into fuel with minimal energy loss, compared to the current state-of-the-art process.

Researchers from Iowa State University, the University of Iowa, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison are working together to develop and test what they think could be a better way to fight the flu. They have loaded synthesized influenza proteins into nanoparticles made from biodegradable polymers. The nanoparticles are then incorporated into a nasal spray and delivered with a sniff. Preliminary studies have shown that the nanovaccine could activate both kinds of immune cells (T cells and B cells) and provide protection in the nose, throat, voice box, windpipe, and lungs.

Researchers from Iowa State University, the University of Iowa, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison are working together to develop and test what they think could be a better way to fight the flu. They have loaded synthesized influenza proteins into nanoparticles made from biodegradable polymers. The nanoparticles are then incorporated into a nasal spray and delivered with a sniff. Preliminary studies have shown that the nanovaccine could activate both kinds of immune cells (T cells and B cells) and provide protection in the nose, throat, voice box, windpipe, and lungs.

Scientists have presented a general framework for incorporating and correcting for nonclassical electromagnetic phenomena in nanoscale systems. The framework extends the validity of the macroscopic electromagnetism into the nanoscale regime, bridging the scale gap.

Scientists have presented a general framework for incorporating and correcting for nonclassical electromagnetic phenomena in nanoscale systems. The framework extends the validity of the macroscopic electromagnetism into the nanoscale regime, bridging the scale gap.

Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley have shown that heat energy can leap across a few hundred nanometers of a complete vacuum, thanks to a quantum mechanical phenomenon called the Casimir interaction. This interaction could have profound implications for the design of computer chips and nanoscale electronic components, where heat dissipation is key.

Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley have shown that heat energy can leap across a few hundred nanometers of a complete vacuum, thanks to a quantum mechanical phenomenon called the Casimir interaction. This interaction could have profound implications for the design of computer chips and nanoscale electronic components, where heat dissipation is key.