News from the NNI Community - Research Advances Funded by Agencies Participating in the NNI

Scientists have demonstrated that lipid-based nanoparticles carrying two sets of protein-making instructions have the potential to function as therapies for two genetic disorders. In one experiment, the payload-containing nanoparticles prompted the production of the missing clotting protein in mice that were models for hemophilia. In another test, the nanoparticles' cargo reduced the activation level of a gene that, when overactive, interferes with clearance of cholesterol from the bloodstream.

Researchers at Washington State University have made a first step in economically converting plant materials to fuels. One big hurdle is that oxygen has to be removed from the plant materials before they can be used. Iron-based catalysts show promise for removing oxygen, but the iron also oxidizes, or rusts, during the reaction, and then the reaction stops. The researchers discovered that one way around this issue is to get the iron to remove the oxygen from the plant materials without taking up so much oxygen that the reaction stops. This was achieved with an iron-based catalyst surrounded by a thin layer of graphene.

Researchers at Washington State University have made a first step in economically converting plant materials to fuels. One big hurdle is that oxygen has to be removed from the plant materials before they can be used. Iron-based catalysts show promise for removing oxygen, but the iron also oxidizes, or rusts, during the reaction, and then the reaction stops. The researchers discovered that one way around this issue is to get the iron to remove the oxygen from the plant materials without taking up so much oxygen that the reaction stops. This was achieved with an iron-based catalyst surrounded by a thin layer of graphene.

A research team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), DESY (German Electron Synchrotron, in Hamburg), and the University of Hamburg has, for the first time, succeeded in building nanoscale integrated electronic circuits that can capture light with the help of tiny antennas and determine the absolute phase of the light wave. 

A research team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), DESY (German Electron Synchrotron, in Hamburg), and the University of Hamburg has, for the first time, succeeded in building nanoscale integrated electronic circuits that can capture light with the help of tiny antennas and determine the absolute phase of the light wave. 

The mantis shrimp uses its two dactyl clubs to strike prey at over 50 miles per hour without appearing to incur any damage. Researchers at the University of California, Irvine have discovered that the clubs have a uniquely designed nanoparticle coating that absorbs and dissipates energy. The researchers determined that the nanoparticles are spheres made of intertwined organic and inorganic nanocrystals.

The mantis shrimp uses its two dactyl clubs to strike prey at over 50 miles per hour without appearing to incur any damage. Researchers at the University of California, Irvine have discovered that the clubs have a uniquely designed nanoparticle coating that absorbs and dissipates energy. The researchers determined that the nanoparticles are spheres made of intertwined organic and inorganic nanocrystals.

Scientists at Stanford University have demonstrated a new way to slow light significantly and to direct it at will. The researchers structured ultrathin silicon chips into nanoscale bars to trap light and then release or redirect it later. These “resonators” could lead to novel ways of manipulating and using light for quantum computing, virtual and augmented reality, and light-based Wi Fi.

Scientists at Stanford University have demonstrated a new way to slow light significantly and to direct it at will. The researchers structured ultrathin silicon chips into nanoscale bars to trap light and then release or redirect it later. These “resonators” could lead to novel ways of manipulating and using light for quantum computing, virtual and augmented reality, and light-based Wi Fi.

The ocean floor and the ground beneath our feet are riddled with tiny nanowires created by billions of bacteria that can generate electric currents from organic waste. Yale researchers have now described how this hidden power grid could be activated with a short jolt of electric field.