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

Researchers have developed a technology that uses a laser beam to detect and destroy tumor cells in the veins of patients with melanoma, a deadly form of skin cancer. The research team was able to kill a high percentage of the cancer-spreading cells, in real time, as they raced through the veins of the participants. If developed further, the tool could give doctors a harmless, noninvasive, and thorough way to hunt and destroy cancer cells before those cells can form new tumors in the body.

Engineers have developed a simple home medical test consisting of various silicon chips coated in a special film. One chip could detect drugs in the blood, another could detect proteins in the urine indicating infection, and another could detect bacteria in water. The engineers imagine a user picking the bodily fluid to test, taking a picture with a smartphone, and an app would indicate if there is a problem.

Engineers have developed a simple home medical test consisting of various silicon chips coated in a special film. One chip could detect drugs in the blood, another could detect proteins in the urine indicating infection, and another could detect bacteria in water. The engineers imagine a user picking the bodily fluid to test, taking a picture with a smartphone, and an app would indicate if there is a problem.

Scientists have found a way to turn graphene into a topological insulator – a material that is an insulator in its interior but is highly conducting on its surface. Realizing a topological insulator in graphene could provide a basis for low-dissipation ballistic electrical circuits or could form the material substrate for topologically protected quantum bits.

Scientists have found a way to turn graphene into a topological insulator – a material that is an insulator in its interior but is highly conducting on its surface. Realizing a topological insulator in graphene could provide a basis for low-dissipation ballistic electrical circuits or could form the material substrate for topologically protected quantum bits.

Engineers have devised a way to pattern the surface of a diamond that makes it easier to collect light from the defects inside. Called a metalens, this surface structure contains nanoscale features that bend and focus the light emitted by the defects. This work could enable the creation of a system that would form the basis for compact quantum technologies.

Engineers have devised a way to pattern the surface of a diamond that makes it easier to collect light from the defects inside. Called a metalens, this surface structure contains nanoscale features that bend and focus the light emitted by the defects. This work could enable the creation of a system that would form the basis for compact quantum technologies.

Researchers have developed a nanostructure that could be used to improve the efficiency with which solar cells harvest energy from the sun. The nanostructure is composed of a light-harvesting protein, semiconducting nanocrystals, and a two-dimensional semiconducting transition metal only one atomic layer thick.

Researchers have developed a nanostructure that could be used to improve the efficiency with which solar cells harvest energy from the sun. The nanostructure is composed of a light-harvesting protein, semiconducting nanocrystals, and a two-dimensional semiconducting transition metal only one atomic layer thick.

Researchers have discovered that tiny circular regions of magnetism can be rapidly enlarged to provide a precise method of measuring the magnetic properties of nanoparticles. The technique provides manufacturers with a practical way to measure and improve the control of the properties of magnetic nanoparticles for a host of medical and environmental applications.