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

Scientists at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory have devised a new process for using nanoparticles to build powerful lasers that are more efficient and safer for our eyes.

Researchers at the University of Buffalo have wirelessly controlled, in lab-grown tissue, a gene that plays a key role in how humans grow from embryos to adults. The research team was able to manipulate the gene by creating tiny photonic brain implants that include nano-lasers and nano-antennas. The ability to manipulate the gene could lead to new cancer treatments and ways to prevent and treat mental disorders.

Researchers at Penn State have found a new class of 2D perovskite materials with edges that are conductive like metals and cores that are insulating. These 2D perovskite materials are cheaper to create than silicon and have the potential to be equally efficient at absorbing sunlight.

Researchers at Penn State have found a new class of 2D perovskite materials with edges that are conductive like metals and cores that are insulating. These 2D perovskite materials are cheaper to create than silicon and have the potential to be equally efficient at absorbing sunlight.

Researchers from Harvard University, NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab, and the University of Edinburgh, have suggested that regions of the Martian surface could be made habitable with a material—silica aerogel—that mimics Earth's atmospheric greenhouse effect. Through modeling and experiments, the researchers have shown that a two to three-centimeter-thick shield of silica aerogel could transmit enough visible light for photosynthesis, block hazardous ultraviolet radiation, and raise temperatures underneath permanently above the melting point of water, all without the need for any internal heat source.

Researchers from Harvard University, NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab, and the University of Edinburgh, have suggested that regions of the Martian surface could be made habitable with a material—silica aerogel—that mimics Earth's atmospheric greenhouse effect. Through modeling and experiments, the researchers have shown that a two to three-centimeter-thick shield of silica aerogel could transmit enough visible light for photosynthesis, block hazardous ultraviolet radiation, and raise temperatures underneath permanently above the melting point of water, all without the need for any internal heat source.

Researchers at the University of Buffalo have wirelessly controlled, in lab-grown tissue, a gene that plays a key role in how humans grow from embryos to adults. The research team was able to manipulate the gene by creating tiny photonic brain implants that include nano-lasers and nano-antennas. The ability to manipulate the gene could lead to new cancer treatments and ways to prevent and treat mental disorders.

The Bureau of Reclamation announced that 30 projects will receive $5.1 million from the Desalination and Water Purification Research Program to develop improved and inexpensive ways to desalinate and treat impaired water.

The Bureau of Reclamation announced that 30 projects will receive $5.1 million from the Desalination and Water Purification Research Program to develop improved and inexpensive ways to desalinate and treat impaired water.

Rice University scientists have designed arrays of aligned single-wall carbon nanotubes to channel heat and greatly raise the efficiency of solar energy systems.