I have two relatively recent news bits about nanomaterials, the second being entirely focused on graphene. Searchable database A July 9, 2019 news item on Nanowerk announces a means of finding out what hazards may be associated with 300 different nanomaterials (Note: A Link has been removed), A new search tool for nanomaterials has been published on the European Union Observatory for Nanomaterials (EUON) website. It will enable regulators to form a better view of…

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Caption: Wireless and battery-free implant with advanced control over targeted neuron groups. Credit: Philipp Gutruf This January 2, 2019 news item on ScienceDaily describes the object seen in the above and describes the problem it’s designed to solve, University of Arizona biomedical engineering professor Philipp Gutruf is first author on the paper Fully implantable, optoelectronic systems for battery-free, multimodal operation in neuroscience research, published in Nature Electronics.Optogenetics is a biological technique that uses light to…

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If you’re imagining an enhanced chakra balancing experience or more efficient digestion of your vitamin supplements, you will be a little disappointed in this latest news from the Imperial College of London (ICL). On the other hand, if you have damaged tissue, this discovery could make your recovery much easier. From a January 7, 2019 news item on phys.org, Materials are widely used to help heal wounds: Collagen sponges help treat burns and pressure sores,…

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A Jan. 3, 2019 news item on ScienceDaily touts a new means of transporting DNA-coated nanoparticles (DNA is deoxyribonucleic acid), This holiday season, scientists at the Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN) — a U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science User Facility at Brookhaven National Laboratory — have wrapped a box of a different kind. Using a one-step chemical synthesis method, they engineered hollow metallic nanosized boxes with cube-shaped pores at the corners and demonstrated…

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Congratulations to the folks at the Canadian Science Policy Centre who’ve worked for 10 years to produce an annual, national Canadian Science Policy Conference! That’s a lot of blood, sweat, tears, and determination. Here are highlights from the 2019 programme as noted in a July 10, 2019 CSPC announcement (received via email), …Theme: Science and Policy Bringing the Social Sciences into New Policy Spaces: Solution-oriented case studies and dialogueOrganized by Natural Resources Canada Evidence in Practice:…

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It’s interesting to see scientists take science fiction and use it as inspiration; something which I think happens more often than we know. After all, when someone asks where you got an idea, it can be difficult to track down the thought process that started it all. Scientists at Virginia Tech (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University) are looking for a new source of inspiration after offering a close examination of how insect-size superheroes, Ant-Man…

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An adhesive that US and Chinese scientists have developed shows great promise not just for bandages but wearable robotics too. From a December 14, 2018 news item on Nanowerk, Researchers from the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) and Xi’an Jiaotong University in China have developed a new type of adhesive that can strongly adhere wet materials — such as hydrogel and living tissue — and be easily detached with…

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It seems to me it’s been quite a while since I’ve stumbled across a memristor story from the University of Micihigan but it was worth waiting for. (Much of the research around memristors has to do with their potential application in neuromorphic (brainlike) computers.) From a December 17, 2018 news item on ScienceDaily, A new electronic device developed at the University of Michigan can directly model the behaviors of a synapse, which is a connection…

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Currently, the deadline is July 26, 2019. For information about the call, there’s a July 6, 2019 ArtSci Salon announcement (received via email) about the call). Note: Both the Art/Sci Salon and CQAM are located in Toronto, Ontario but this is not limited to Canadian artists as far as I can tell, Please, see this quick call!! this is for existing artworks: do you have any math-related digital work/photography/drawing/ in high res? please consider submitting!!!…

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This research comes from Purdue University (US) and the December announcement seemed particularly timely since battery-powered gifts are popular at Christmas but since it could be many years before this work is commercialized, you may want to tuck it away for future reference.  Also, readers familiar with memristors might see a resemblance to the memory cells mentioned in the following excerpt. From a December 13, 2018 news item on Nanowerk, The more objects we make…

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