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

An international team co-led by an Oregon State University chemistry researcher has uncovered a better way to scrub carbon dioxide from smokestack emissions, which could be a key to mitigating global climate change. The researchers used data mining to deal with the water portion of smokestack gases, which greatly complicates removing the carbon dioxide. The data mining involved hundreds of thousands of nanomaterials known as metal organic frameworks, which can intercept carbon dioxide molecules as the flue gases make their way out of the smokestack.

An international team co-led by an Oregon State University chemistry researcher has uncovered a better way to scrub carbon dioxide from smokestack emissions, which could be a key to mitigating global climate change. The researchers used data mining to deal with the water portion of smokestack gases, which greatly complicates removing the carbon dioxide. The data mining involved hundreds of thousands of nanomaterials known as metal organic frameworks, which can intercept carbon dioxide molecules as the flue gases make their way out of the smokestack.

Scientists at Johns Hopkins Medicine report that they have created a tiny, nano-size container that can slip inside cells and deliver protein-based medicines and gene therapies of any size — even hefty ones attached to a gene-editing tool called CRISPR. If their creation — constructed of a biodegradable polymer — passes more laboratory testing, it could offer a way to efficiently ferry larger medical compounds into specifically selected target cells.

Scientists at Johns Hopkins Medicine report that they have created a tiny, nano-size container that can slip inside cells and deliver protein-based medicines and gene therapies of any size — even hefty ones attached to a gene-editing tool called CRISPR. If their creation — constructed of a biodegradable polymer — passes more laboratory testing, it could offer a way to efficiently ferry larger medical compounds into specifically selected target cells.

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have adapted a cryogenic electron microscope to visualize a soft material's atomic structure while keeping it intact. The researchers made nanosheets in solution from short protein-like molecules, called peptoids, that could advance a number of applications, such as synthetic, disease-specific antibodies and self-repairing membranes or tissue.

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have adapted a cryogenic electron microscope to visualize a soft material's atomic structure while keeping it intact. The researchers made nanosheets in solution from short protein-like molecules, called peptoids, that could advance a number of applications, such as synthetic, disease-specific antibodies and self-repairing membranes or tissue.

Researchers at the University of Delaware have shown for the first time that the old carbon found on the seafloor can be directly linked to submicron graphite particles emanating from hydrothermal vents. To conduct their study, the researchers used samples of nanoparticles from five different hydrothermal vent sites collected during a research expedition to the East Pacific Rise vent field in the Pacific Ocean. Then the researchers analyzed the samples under scanning and transmission microscopes at the National Center for Earth and Environmental Nanotechnology Infrastructure (NanoEarth) at Virginia Tech.

Researchers at the University of Delaware have shown for the first time that the old carbon found on the seafloor can be directly linked to submicron graphite particles emanating from hydrothermal vents. To conduct their study, the researchers used samples of nanoparticles from five different hydrothermal vent sites collected during a research expedition to the East Pacific Rise vent field in the Pacific Ocean. Then the researchers analyzed the samples under scanning and transmission microscopes at the National Center for Earth and Environmental Nanotechnology Infrastructure (NanoEarth) at Virginia Tech.

Metalenses—flat surfaces that use nanostructures to focus light—are poised to revolutionize microscopes, cameras, sensors, and displays. But so far, most of the lenses have been about the size of a piece of glitter. Now, researchers at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences have developed an all-glass, centimeter-scale metalens in the visible spectrum that can be manufactured using conventional chip fabrication methods.

Metalenses—flat surfaces that use nanostructures to focus light—are poised to revolutionize microscopes, cameras, sensors, and displays. But so far, most of the lenses have been about the size of a piece of glitter. Now, researchers at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences have developed an all-glass, centimeter-scale metalens in the visible spectrum that can be manufactured using conventional chip fabrication methods.