Lifeboat Foundation

A new study from researchers at Tyndall National Institute and the National University of Singapore shows that subtle changes in the intermolecular van der Waals interactions in the active component of a molecular diode can improve the device performance by more than a factor of ten.

A team of scientists from Tyndall National Institute at University College Cork and the National University of Singapore have designed and fabricated ultra-small devices for energy-efficient electronics. By finding out how molecules behave in these devices, a ten-fold increase in switching efficiency was obtained by changing just one carbon atom. These devices could provide new ways to combat overheating in mobile phones and laptops, and could also aid in electrical stimulation of tissue repair for wound healing. The breakthrough creation of molecular devices with highly controllable electrical properties will appear in the February issue of Nature Nanotechnology. Dr. Damien Thompson at the Tyndall National Institute, UCC and a team of researchers at the National University of Singapore led by Prof. Chris Nijhuis designed and created the devices, which are based on molecules acting as electrical valves, or diode rectifiers.

Dr. Thompson explains “These molecules are very useful because they allow current to flow through them when switched ON and block current flow when switched OFF. The results of the study show that simply adding one extra carbon is sufficient to improve the device performance by more than a factor of ten. We are following up lots of new ideas based on these results, and we hope ultimately to create a range of new components for electronic devices.” Dr. Thompson’s atom-level computer simulations showed how molecules with an odd number of carbon atoms stand straighter than molecules with an even number of carbon atoms. This allows them to pack together more closely. Tightly-packed assemblies of these molecules were formed on metal electrode surfaces by the Nijhuis group in Singapore and were found to be remarkably free of defects. These high quality devices can suppress leakage currents and so operate efficiently and reliably.

A collaborative research team has developed a novel method to measure minuscule nanoscale forces in liquids, using a technique that significantly enhances measurement sensitivity and resolution. This breakthrough could transform biological research and advance biomedical technology.

Groundbreaking research has introduced a new method for measuring extremely small forces at the nanoscale within aqueous environments, expanding our understanding of the microscopic realm.

The significant nanotechnology advance was achieved by researchers from Beihang University in China with RMIT University and other leading institutions including the Australian National University and University of Technology Sydney.

In a newly published study, scientists detail the development of electronic biosensors that can be regenerated and reused repeatedly.

Imagine a swarm of tiny devices only a few hundred nanometers in size that can detect trace amounts of toxins in a water supply or the very earliest signs of cancer in the blood. Now imagine that these tiny sensors can reset themselves, allowing for repeated use over time inside a body of water – or a human body.

Improving nanodevice biosensors is the goal of Mark Reed, Harold Hodgkinson Professor of Electrical Engineering at the Yale School of Engineering & Applied Science. Reed and his colleagues have reported a recent breakthrough in designing electronic biosensors that can be regenerated and reused repeatedly.

Researchers from NC State and Johns Hopkins have developed a breakthrough technology that leverages DNA for data storage and computing, offering capabilities such as storing, retrieving, computing, and rewriting data.

This technology is made viable by innovative polymer structures called dendricolloids, enhancing data density and preservation. It enables functions similar to electronic devices and could potentially secure data for millennia, providing a promising foundation for the future of molecular computing.

DNA Data Storage and Computing.

Researchers are queuing up to try a powerful microscopy technique that can simultaneously sequence an individual cell’s DNA and pinpoint the location of its proteins with high resolution — all without having to crack the cell open and extract its contents. Imaging DNA and proteins inside intact cells provides crucial information about how these molecules work together.

The method’s developers have already used it to study how ageing might alter the way that proteins in the nucleus interact with chromosomes. As the body ages, they found, changes in these nuclear proteins could suppress gene activity.

“This paper is really extraordinary,” says Ankur Sharma, a cancer biologist at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Sydney, Australia, who was not involved in the study but is keen to use the approach to study cancer cells and described it as “phenomenal” on the social-media platform, X.

Engineers have worked out how to give robots complex instructions without electricity for the first time, which could free up more space in the robotic ‘brain’ for them to ‘think.’

Mimicking how some parts of the human body work, researchers from King’s College London have transmitted a series of commands to devices with a new kind of compact circuit, using variations in pressure from a fluid inside it.

They say this world first opens up the possibility of a new generation of robots, whose bodies could operate independently of their built-in control center, with this space potentially being used instead for more complex AI-powered software.

Genetic analysis of cavity crud from two famed man-eating lions suggests the method could re-create diets of predators that lived thousands of years ago.

Where you people most often get their information regarding cannabis? This is what a recent study published in the Journal of Cannabis Research hopes to address as a team of researchers led by the University of Michigan Medical School investigated the methods by which everyday citizens receive their information regarding cannabis, specifically pertaining to its legality, which comes on the heels of its classification from a Schedule I to Schedule III drug recently being recommended by the Department of Health and Human Services.

For the study, the researchers conducted a survey of 1,161 participants ages 18 and up regarding their cannabis use within the past year, reasons for use, and the sources where they obtain their information regarding cannabis. The participants consisted of 51 percent women and 49 percent men with 27 percent reporting using cannabis within the past year. Regarding their sources of information, 35.6 percent reported it was from family and friends, 33.7 percent reported it was from websites, 9.3 percent from healthcare providers, 8.6 percent from employees where the cannabis was purchased, and 4.7 percent was from government agencies.

The study concludes by saying, “In this nationally representative survey, we show that most people draw information about cannabis from friends and family or online, with very few consulting their healthcare provider or government agencies. As cannabis accessibility and legality is increasing, there is a strong need for better clinician education, public outreach strategies, and improved communication between patients and clinicians about cannabis.”

A new computer simulation of how our brains develop and grow neurons has been built by scientists from the University of Surrey. Along with improving our understanding of how the brain works, researchers hope that the models will contribute to neurodegenerative disease research and, someday, stem cell research that helps regenerate brain tissue.