As you might expect from the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) this research concerns techniques for measurements. From an August 15, 2019 news item on Nanowerk (Note: Links have been removed), Tiny nanoparticles play a gargantuan role in modern life, even if most consumers are unaware of their presence. They provide essential ingredients in sunscreen lotions, prevent athlete’s foot fungus in socks, and fight microbes on bandages. They enhance the colors of…

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AI artists first hit my radar in August 2018 when Christie’s Auction House advertised an art auction of a ‘painting’ by an algorithm (artificial intelligence). There’s more in my August 31, 2018 posting but, briefly, a French art collective, Obvious, submitted a painting, “Portrait of Edmond de Belamy,” that was created by an artificial intelligence agent to be sold for an estimated to $7000 – $10,000. They weren’t even close. According to Ian Bogost’s March…

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A February 13, 2019 news item on the (US) National Law Review blog announces a new report on nanomaterial definitions (Note: A link has been removed), The European Commission’s (EC) Joint Research Center (JRC) published on February 13, 2019, a report entitled An overview of concepts and terms used in the European Commission’s definition of nanomaterial. … The report provides recommendations for a harmonized and coherent implementation of the nanomaterial definition in any specific regulatory…

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Simone Fabiano and Jennifer Gerasimov have developed a learning transistor that mimics the way synapses function. Credit: Thor Balkhed At a guess, this was originally a photograph which has been passed through some sort of programme to give it a paintinglike quality. Moving onto the research, I don’t see any reference to memristors (another of the ‘devices’ that mimics the human brain) so perhaps this is an entirely different way to mimic human brains? A…

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This research gives new meaning to ‘Take your vitamin C’ as can be seen in a February 19, 2019 news item on Nanowerk, A boost of vitamin C helped Rice University scientists turn small gold nanorods into fine gold nanowires. Common, mild ascorbic acid is the not-so-secret sauce that helped the Rice lab of chemist Eugene Zubarev grow pure batches of nanowires from stumpy nanorods without the drawbacks of previous techniques. “There’s no novelty per…

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Caption: This bee was caught after it visited a flower of which the pollen grains were labelled with quantum dots. Under the microscope one can see where the pollen was placed, and actually determine which insects carry the most pollen from which flower. Credit: Corneile Minnaar Fascinating, yes? Next, the news and, then, the video about the research, A February 14, 2019 news item on ScienceDaily announces research from South Africa, A pollination biologist from…

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For anyone not familiar with the concept, it’s possible to remove salt from water to make it potable (i.e., drinkable). With growing concerns about water shortages worldwide, turning the ocean into something drinkable is seen as a reasonable solution. One of the problems associated with the solution is waste. As you can see in this post, it’s a big problem. Illustration depicts the potential of the suggested process. Brine, which could be obtained from the…

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Firefighters everywhere are likely to appreciate the efforts of researchers at Texas A&M University (US) to a develop a non-toxic fire retardant coating. From a February 12, 2019 news item on Nanowerk (Note: A link has been removed), Texas A&M University researchers are developing a new kind of flame-retardant coating using renewable, nontoxic materials readily found in nature, which could provide even more effective fire protection for several widely used materials.Dr. Jaime Grunlan, the Linda…

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I did not want to cash in (so to speak) on someone else’s fun headline so I played with it. Hre is the original head, which was likely written by either David Ruth or Mike Williams at Rice University (Texas, US), “Lettuce show you how to restore oil-soaked soil.” A February 1, 2019 news item on ScienceDaily on the science behind lettuce and oil-soaked soil, Rice University engineers have figured out how soil contaminated by…

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I’m fascinated with this news and I’m pretty sure it’s my first exposure to nanoparticle computing so am quite excited about this ‘discovery of mine’. A February 25, 2019 news item on Nanowerk announces the research from Korean scientists, Computation is a ubiquitous concept in physical sciences, biology, and engineering, where it provides many critical capabilities. Historically, there have been ongoing efforts to merge computation with “unusual” matters across many length scales, from microscopic droplets…

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