Science

Tags:

No compromises: JILA's short, flexible, reusable AFM probe

JILA researchers have engineered a short, flexible, reusable probe for the atomic force microscope (AFM) that enables state-of-the-art precision and stability in picoscale force measurements. Shorter, softer and more agile than standard and recently enhanced AFM probes, the JILA tips will benefit nanotechnology and studies of folding and stretching in biomolecules such as proteins and DNA.

49303.jpg
This image shows JILA's modified AFM probes measuring DNA molecules. The older mod (long cantilever, right) eliminated the usual gold coating to enhance long-term stability. The latest version (left) retains the gold coating where needed to reflect light but maintains excellent stability. Researchers also removed a large section to reduce stiffness and friction near surfaces. The new probe provides precise results much faster than before, while reducing "noise" (colored squiggles).

Tags:

Chance Meeting Creates Celestial Diamond Ring

Astronomers using ESO’s Very Large Telescope in Chile have captured this eye-catching image of planetary nebula PN A66 33 — usually known as Abell 33. Created when an aging star blew off its outer layers, this beautiful blue bubble is, by chance, aligned with a foreground star, and bears an uncanny resemblance to a diamond engagement ring. This cosmic gem is unusually symmetric, appearing to be almost circular on the sky.

eso1412a_0.jpg

Tags:

US Navy Develops Fuel from Seawater

93CE95B8-A443-4A45-8D57-15118BA81678_w640_r1_s_cx0_cy28_cw0_0_0.jpg

Tags:

TMC13 Deposition Rate Controller now supports Multi-Crystal sensors

The latest TMC13 Deposition Rate Controller from Henniker Scientific is further extended with 0.01Hz frequency resolution and support for multi-crystal sensors with each crystal being controlled individually.

49295.jpg
Support for multi-crystal sensors

Tags:

First principles approach to creating new materials: Solid-state chemistry and theoretical physics combined to help discover new materials with useful properties

A Perovskite heterostructure: The laws governing the physics of materials are in fact relatively simple, it is just that the behavior of the constituents as a whole are complex. Indeed, materials are made up of atoms whose type, number, and arrangement--the crystalline motif--creates distinct properties that emerge through the collective behavior of the seemingly simpler, well-understood parts. The discovery of emergent phenomena in condensed matter systems is therefore intimately linked with that of discovering the crystalline materials that display these phenomena. Such discoveries by their very nature often occur serendipitously. One challenge is that there are an enormous number of possible bulk compounds that have yet to be identified. As the propensity for new properties tends to increase as the structural and chemical complexity of the crystalline motif increases, the traditional exploratory route to discover these materials is quite demanding.

49297.jpg
The artificial hetero-structuring of complex materials at the atomic scale

Tags:

Images From NASA Mars Rover Include Bright Spots

pia18077-640_0.jpg
This image from the Navigation Camera (Navcam) on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover includes a bright spot near the upper left corner.

Tags:

Global Recovery Offers Opportunity for Growth and Policy Reforms in the Middle East and North Africa

The World Bank Group’s latest regional economic update projects growth in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region to accelerate from an average of 2.6% in 2013 to 4.6% in 2015. With the global economy set for a rebound, 2014 seems hopeful and 2015 could be a turning point for countries in the MENA region as they will start to benefit from stronger external demand in the high-income economies.

Tags:

Rebar technique strengthens case for graphene: Rice University lab makes hybrid nanotube-graphene material that promises to simplify manufacturing

Carbon nanotubes are reinforcing bars that make two-dimensional graphene much easier to handle in a new hybrid material grown by researchers at Rice University.

49285.jpg
Carbon nanotubes that serve as reinforcing bars in graphene partially unzip in the process created at Rice University. The unzipped part of the tube bonds covalently with the graphene sheet, providing an uninterrupted electrical connection.

Tags:

Trees go high-tech: process turns cellulose into energy storage devices

Based on a fundamental chemical discovery by scientists at Oregon State University, it appears that trees may soon play a major role in making high-tech energy storage devices.

49290.jpg

Tags:

To bridge LEDs' green gap, scientists think small... really small: Nanostructures half a DNA strand-wide show promise for efficient LEDs

Nanostructures half the breadth of a DNA strand could improve the efficiency of light emitting diodes (LEDs), especially in the "green gap," a portion of the spectrum where LED efficiency plunges, simulations at the U.S. Department of Energy's National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC) have shown.

49281.jpg
This simulation of a one-nanometer wide Indium Nitride wire shows the distribution of an electron around a positively charged 'hole.' Strong quantum confinement in these small nanostructures enables efficient light emission at visible wavelengths.