Switchable Nanostructures Made with DNA
Scientists at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) have found a new way to use a synthetic form of DNA to control the assembly of nanoparticles—resulting in switchable, three-dimensional and small-cluster structures that might be useful, as biosensors, in solar cells and as new materials for data storage.
Small Nanoparticles Bring Big Improvement to Medical Imaging
It's easy to miss something important while watching the complex processes in a living cell—especially if you are watching changes that take a long time to unfold and require high-spatial-resolution imaging. New research makes it possible to scrutinize activities that occur over hours or even days inside cells, potentially solving many of the mysteries associated with molecular-scale events occurring in these tiny living things.
LANL Receives Contribution for Math and Science Academy From Chevron Energy Technology Company
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) recently accepted a $25,000 contribution from Chevron Energy Technology Company, a Chevron Corporation subsidiary, to the LANL Foundation to support the Northern New Mexico Math and Science Academy, a professional development program for K-12 teachers. The program is conducted by LANL in cooperation with its regional education, business, and government partners.
Smart Grid Interoperability Panel Launched; Governing Board Elected
The inaugural meeting of the Smart Grid Interoperability Panel (SGIP), a new stakeholder forum to provide technical support to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) as it coordinates standards for a modernized electric power system, concluded with the election of 20 members to its governing board.
Plasmonic Whispering Gallery Microcavity Paves the Way to Future Nanolasers
The principle behind whispering galleries—where words spoken softly beneath a domed ceiling or in a vault can be clearly heard on the opposite side of the chamber—has been used to achieve what could prove to be a significant breakthrough in the miniaturization of lasers. Ultra-small lasers, i.e., nanoscale, promise a wide variety of intriguing applications, including superfast communications and data handling (photonics), and optical microchips for instant and detailed chemical analyses.
Kennedy Space Center's Partnership with Graftel Incorporated
NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC) recently partnered with Graftel, Incorporated under an exclusive license agreement for the manufacture and sale of the Smart Current Signature Sensor. The Smart Current Signature Sensor and software were designed and developed to be utilized on any application using solenoid valves. The system monitors the electrical and mechanical health of solenoids by comparing the electrical current profile of each solenoid actuation to a typical current profile and reporting deviation from its learned behavior.
Nanowire Solar Energy Harvesting
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) researchers are leveraging unique Laboratory capabilities to make highly efficient, low-cost crystalline solar cells based on economical thin film processing approaches by means of nanomaterials synthesis.
Haptic Glove Technology
The number of communication methods has grown significantly over the past two decades. By utilizing advancements in sensors and software, technologies are being developed to enable more complex messages to be communicated through haptics, which uses the sense of touch. Haptic communication overcomes communication barriers for blind and deaf people or where dangerous, dark, or noisy environments prevent the effective use of auditory or visual communication methods.
Small-Molecule Inhibitors of Angiogenesis
Angiogenesis, the growth of new blood vessels from existing vessels, is a normal and vital process in growth and development. Deregulation of angiogenesis plays a role in many human diseases, including cancer, age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, and endometriosis.
Administration's Open Government Initiative and Tech Transfer
Greetings from D.C. In a December memorandum to agency heads (Subject: Open Government Directive), the Office of Management and Budget directed executive departments and agencies "to take specific actions to implement the principles of transparency, participation and collaboration set forth in an earlier presidential memorandum on open government. To mark the publication of that directive and its intended expanded implementation of the Administration's Open Government Initiative, each agency launched at least one new open government-related initiative.
