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The GeS “nanoflowers” have petals only 20-30 nanometers thick, and provide a large surface area in a small amount of space.

This illustration depicts DNA molecules (light green), packaged into nanoparticles by using a polymer with two different segments. One segment (teal) carries a positive charge that binds it to the DNA, and the other (brown) forms a protective coating on the particle surface. By adjusting the solvent surrounding these molecules, the Johns Hopkins and Northwestern researchers were able to control the shape of the nanoparticles. The team’s animal tests showed that a nanoparticle’s shape could dramatically affect how effectively it delivers gene therapy to the cells. The cartoon images in the foreground, obtained though computational modeling, matched closely with the gray background images, which were collected through transmission electron microscopy.

SA's DC-8 over the Pacific during transit to Chile

MIT chemists designed a new type of pencil lead consisting of carbon nanotubes, allowing them to draw carbon nanotube sensors onto sheets of paper.

Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) have discovered a totally unexpected spiral structure in the material around the old star R Sculptoris. This is the first time that such a structure, along with an outer spherical shell, has been found around a red giant star. It is also the first time that astronomers could get full three-dimensional information about such a spiral. The strange shape was probably created by a hidden companion star orbiting the red giant.

Among the advantages of the reactor, mention can be made of the fact that no sludge is produced during the purification process.

This illustration depicts a single molecular-sized pore in a graphene membrane. The membrane is separating carbon dioxide from nitrogen. A carbon dioxide molecule is passing through the pore while nitrogen molecules are too large to pass through.

Artist's concept of NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft.

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2012-313&rn=news.xml&rst=3541

The world's needs for energy and raw materials are constantly growing, and the search for readily accessible and inexpensive material for energy applications is driving research teams all around the world. Fuel cells based on hydrogen and oxygen, for example, can convert stored chemical energy into electrical energy in an environmentally friendly way, as the byproduct is simply water.