Over the decades, many strains of disease-causing bacteria have evolved defenses to even the most potent antibiotics, setting off a growing health crisis. The rise of antibiotic-resistant “superbugs” has also set off an arms race. As germs find new ways to withstand drugs, researchers are looking for new ways to break down their defenses. In a significant step forward, a research team led by Yan Yu, the Art Krieg Professor of Chemistry, in Arts & Sciences, and of biomedical e

Visible light can be used to create electrodes from conductive plastics completely without hazardous chemicals. This is shown in a new study carried out by researchers at Linköping and Lund universities, Sweden. The electrodes can be created on different types of surfaces, which opens up for a new type of electronics and medical sensors.

Using proteins from a common tobacco plant virus, McGill chemistry researchers have developed a simple, eco-friendly way to arrange gold nanoparticles into ultrathin sheets, strengthening the particles’ optical properties. The result: cheaper, safer materials for solar panels, sensors and advanced optical devices. Gold nanoparticles are only effective in strengthening optical signals when the nanoparticles are arranged on a surface and spaced at exact distances. Until now, cr

One of the enigmas of life is emergence, when the whole becomes more than its parts. Flocks of birds can instantly change direction when a predator appears, guided not by a lead bird but by a collective intelligence that no single bird can possess on its own. Multitudes of molecules skitter chaotically in a cell, but certain ones find each other, interact, and give rise to sophisticated cellular structures and functions that could not have been predicted by studying the molec

Bacteria that multiply on surfaces are a major headache in healthcare when they gain a foothold on, for example, implants or in catheters. Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden have found a new weapon to fight these hotbeds of bacterial growth – one that does not rely on antibiotics or toxic metals. The key lies in a completely new application of this year's Nobel Prize-winning material: metal-organic frameworks. These materials can physically impale, pun

Drugs are often only needed at a specific site in the body. That is why medical research has long been trying to deliver them precisely to where they are needed – in the case of a stroke, directly to the vicinity of the blood clot. A team from ETH Zurich has now achieved decisive breakthroughs on several levels in pursuit of this goal. The results have been published in the prestigious journal Science. The authors of the publication include Professor Tessa Lühmann from the In

The study found that rectification happens because of the way the electric charges lining the inside of the pore influence ion movement. The charge distribution makes it easier for ions to pass in one direction than the other, like a one-way valve. Gating, on the other hand, occurs when a large flow of ions leads to a charge imbalance that structurally destabilizes the pore, which causes part of the pore to temporarily collapse, blocking the flow of ions.

Researchers at the University of North Carolina have created microscopic soft robots shaped like flowers that can change shape and behavior in response to their surroundings, just like living organisms do. These tiny “DNA flowers” are made from special crystals formed by combining DNA and inorganic materials. They can reversibly fold and unfold in seconds, making them among the most dynamic materials ever developed on such a small scale. Each flower’s DNA acts like a tiny com

Researchers in the laboratory of Lulu Qian, Caltech professor of bioengineering, are developing nanoscale machines made out of synthetic DNA, taking advantage of DNA's unique chemical bonding properties to build circuits that can process signals much like miniature computers. Operating at billionth-of-a-meter scales, these molecular machines can be designed to form DNA robots that sort cargos or to function like a neural network that can learn to recognize handwritten numeric

Until now, the early phase of drug discovery for the development of new therapeutics has been both cost- and time-intensive. Researchers at KIT (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology) have now developed a platform on which extremely miniaturized nanodroplets with a volume of only 200 nanoliters per droplet – comparable to a grain of sand – and containing only 300 cells per test can be arranged. This platform enables the researchers to synthesize, characterize, and test thousands

Photosystem II doesn’t just collect sunlight – it makes incredibly smart decisions about what to do with that energy. What researchers have uncovered is how nature balances two contradictory goals: getting the most from every photon while also protecting itself from too much light.

Nanotechnology is significantly advancing medicine. Tiny, specially designed particles deliver active substances into diseased cells or have a healing effect themselves. To ensure that this happens as safely and effectively as possible, the behaviour of the nanoparticles after entering a cell must be studied in detail. Synchrotron radiation sources offer the best opportunities for this. In particular, the planned PETRA IV X-ray microscope at DESY promises detailed insights.