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

(Funded by the National Institutes of Health)

Scientists have been able to reverse multiple sclerosis symptoms in mice with a nanotechnology treatment derived from bone marrow stem cells. In past experiments, intravenously injected stem cells often got trapped in filter organs before reaching their target. For this study, the researchers avoided that problem by extracting nano-sized particles called exosomes from the stem cells and injecting them into mice with multiple sclerosis.

(Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy)

Researchers have found that a form of nanoscale corrosion is responsible for unpredictably decreasing the working life of steel pipes. The researchers were able to pin the root of the problem on a triple junction formed by a grain of cementite—a compound of carbon and iron—and two grains of ferrite, a type of iron.

(Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy)

Researchers have found that a form of nanoscale corrosion is responsible for unpredictably decreasing the working life of steel pipes. The researchers were able to pin the root of the problem on a triple junction formed by a grain of cementite—a compound of carbon and iron—and two grains of ferrite, a type of iron.

(Funded by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research)

Researchers have discovered that the teeth of the deep-sea dragonfish are transparent because they have an unusually crystalline nanostructure mixed with amorphous regions. This discovery could inspire researchers who are trying to develop transparent ceramics.

(Funded by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research)

Researchers have discovered that the teeth of the deep-sea dragonfish are transparent because they have an unusually crystalline nanostructure mixed with amorphous regions. This discovery could inspire researchers who are trying to develop transparent ceramics.

(Funded by the National Institutes of Health)

Researchers have advanced the idea of using titanium dioxide nanoparticles stimulated by microwaves to trigger the death of cancer cells without damaging normal cells around them. The use of titanium dioxide nanoparticles activated by light and ultrasound to treat cancer has been studied extensively, but this advance marks the first time researchers have shown that these nanoparticles can be effectively activated by microwaves to destroy cancer cells.

(Funded by the National Institutes of Health)

Researchers have advanced the idea of using titanium dioxide nanoparticles stimulated by microwaves to trigger the death of cancer cells without damaging normal cells around them. The use of titanium dioxide nanoparticles activated by light and ultrasound to treat cancer has been studied extensively, but this advance marks the first time researchers have shown that these nanoparticles can be effectively activated by microwaves to destroy cancer cells.

(Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy)

Gold, silver, and copper are heavy metals, but scientists can now make them nearly as light as air—in a form so tiny it can ride on a mosquito's back. These ultra-low-density metal foams were created to improve the X-ray sources that are used in the world's most energetic laser system.

(Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy)

Gold, silver, and copper are heavy metals, but scientists can now make them nearly as light as air—in a form so tiny it can ride on a mosquito's back. These ultra-low-density metal foams were created to improve the X-ray sources that are used in the world's most energetic laser system.

(Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and the Office of Naval Research)

Scientists have devised a way to engineer strain when atomically thin crystals are grown over three-dimensional objects to make single-photon emitters for quantum information processing.