Science

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Microtubes create cozy space for neurons to grow, and grow fast

Tiny, thin microtubes could provide a scaffold for neuron cultures to grow so that researchers can study neural networks, their growth and repair, yielding insights into treatment for degenerative neurological conditions or restoring nerve connections after injury.

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A microscope image of a neuron growing through a microtube. The tube is soft and flexible, wrapping around the axon and providing a cozy, 3-D scaffold.

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A billion holes can make a battery

Researchers at the University of Maryland have invented a single tiny structure that includes all the components of a battery that they say could bring about the ultimate miniaturization of energy storage components.

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A billion nanopores could fit on a postage stamp.

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Computer Scientists Ask Supreme Court to Rule APIs Can’t Be Copyrighted

EFF Files Amicus Brief on Behalf of Tech Pioneers in Oracle v. Google Court Battle

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) filed a brief with the Supreme Court of the United States, arguing on behalf of 77 computer scientists that the justices should review a disastrous appellate court decision finding that application programming interfaces (APIs) are copyrightable. That decision, handed down by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in May, up-ended decades of settled legal precedent and industry practice.

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Neural Canals Produced in Iran for Recovery of Sciatica Nerve

Neural canals were produced in a joint research carried out by Iranian researchers from Tarbiat Modarres University and National Cell Bank of Pasteur Institute of Iran to recover the damaged peripheral nervous system.

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Iranian Scientists Investigate Effective Parameters on Structure of Graphene Sheets

Iranian researchers from Mashhad Branch of Islamic Azad University studied different parameters effective on the mechanical properties of graphene sheets under load.

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NEI Development Update on NANOMYTE® TC-5001, a Protective Coating for Zinc-Plated and Galvanized Steel

NEI Corporation has issued a product update, following the successful introduction of NANOMYTE® TC‐5001 - a nanotechnology-enabled, anti-corrosion coating for zinc‐plated and hot‐dip galvanized (HDG) steel. TC-5001 is a nanostructured composite coating consisting of organic and inorganic phases. It can be used either as a standalone coating or with the water-based, self-healing pretreatment, NANOMYTE® PT-100. In its current form, TC-5001 can be applied on metallic parts that have a zinc-based finish. Recent developments on its effectiveness and usage are outlined below.

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Examples of structural parts that can be coated with TC-5001 (or related products) for corrosion protection are shown above.

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How to make mobile batteries last longer by controlling energy flows at nano-level

Electronic devices waste a lot of energy by producing useless heat. This is one of the main reasons our mobiles use up battery power so quickly. Researchers at University of Luxembourg have made a leap forward in understanding how this happens and how this waste could be reduced by controlling energy flows at a molecular level. This would make our technology cheaper to run and more durable.

Until now, scientists had just an average view of energy conversion efficiency in nano-devices. For the first time, a more complete picture has been described thanks to University of Luxembourg research. "We discovered universal properties about the way energy efficiency of nano-systems fluctuates," explained Prof. Massimiliano Esposito of Luxembourg University's Physics and Materials research unit. Using this knowledge it will be possible to control energy flows more accurately, so cutting waste.

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Mars Spacecraft Reveal Comet Flyby Effects on Martian Atmosphere

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Artist’s concept of Comet Siding Spring approaching Mars, shown with NASA’s orbiters preparing to make science observations of this unique encounter.

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Outsmarting Thermodynamics in Self-assembly of Nanostructures: Berkeley Lab reports method for symmetry-breaking in feedback-driven self-assembly of optical metamaterials

If you can uniformly break the symmetry of nanorod pairs in a colloidal solution, you're a step ahead of the game toward achieving new and exciting metamaterial properties. But traditional thermodynamic -driven colloidal assembly of these metamaterials, which are materials defined by their non-naturally-occurring properties, often result in structures with high degree of symmetries in the bulk material. In this case, the energy requirement does not allow the structure to break its symmetry.

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imulation of feedback driven self-assembly in mass assembly-line. The tilted network indicates aqueous flow in space (blue reservoir). The plasmon gauged potential (red) phothermally dissociates unwanted assemblies and re-assembles into the desired dimers.

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Researchers Apply Corms Extract for Production of Silver Nanoparticles

Iranian researchers produced silver nanoparticles by using the extract of corms as the reductive solution.

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