(PhysOrg.com) -- If manmade devices could be combined with biological machines, laptops and other electronic devices could get a boost in operating efficiency.

Berkeley Lab researchers have reported the first direct observation of nanoparticles undergoing oriented attachment, the critical step in biomineralization and the growth of nanocrystals. A better understanding of oriented attachment in nanoparticles is a key to synthesizing new materials with remarkable structural properties.

The scientific and technological literature is abuzz with nanotechnology and its manufacturing and medical applications. But it is in an area with a less glitzy aura—plant sciences—where nanotechnology advancements are contributing dramatically to agriculture.

A novel approach to designing artificial materials could enable magnetic devices with a wider range of properties than those now available. An international team of researchers have now extended the properties and potential uses of metamaterials by using not one but two very different classes of nanostructures, or metamolecules.

(Phys.org) -- Cornell nanotechnology researchers have devised a new tool to study epigenetic changes in DNA that can cause cancer and other diseases: a nanoscale fluidic device that sorts and collects DNA, one molecule at a time.

A team from the Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO) has developed a technique to measure internal cell temperatures without altering their metabolism. This finding could be useful when distinguishing healthy cells from cancerous ones, as well as learning more about cellular processes.

Often the sum is greater than its parts. Using an atomic force microscope as a “crane”, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich researchers have succeeded in bringing two biomolecules together to form an active complex – with nanometer precision and built-in quality control.

To modify a metal surface at the scale of atoms and molecules — for instance to refine the wiring in computer chips or the reflective silver in optical components — manufacturers shower it with ions. While the process may seem high-tech and precise, the technique has been limited by the ...