In a move akin to adding chemical weapons to a firebomb, researchers have devised a method to deposit a thin layer of hydrogels on the surface of nanoshells designed to absorb infrared light and generate heat to destroy tumors. When heated by the nanoshells, these special hydrogels lose their water content and any drugs trapped within, creating a formidable one-two punch.

Engineers have created a nanoscale device that can emit light as powerfully as an object 10,000 times its size. It’s an advance that could have huge implications for everything from photography to solar power.

In a breakthrough for nanoscience, polymer engineers have made such a mold for nanostructures that can shape liquid silicon out of an organic polymer material. This paves the way for perfect, 3-D, single crystal nanostructures.

A researcher employs a clay typically used for gardening to develop a proton-conducting, bulk nanostructured material.

Researchers have developed an effective and environmentally benign method to combat bacteria by engineering nanoscale particles that add the antimicrobial potency of silver to a core of lignin, a ubiquitous substance found in all plant cells. The findings introduce ideas for better, greener and safer nanotechnology and could lead to enhanced efficiency of antimicrobial products used in agriculture and personal care.

Researchers have found that nanoscale wires (nanowires) made of common semiconductor materials have a pronounced anelasticity — meaning that the wires, when bent, return slowly to their original shape rather than snapping back quickly.

A new material design could make low-cost solar panels far more efficient by greatly enhancing their ability to collect the sun’s energy and release it as electricity.

A nanoparticle gene delivery system has been developed by scientists that destroys brain gliomas in a rat model, significantly extending the lives of the treated animals. The nanoparticles are filled with genes for an enzyme that converts a prodrug called ganciclovir into a potent destroyer of the glioma cells.

A new chemical reaction pathway on titanium dioxide has been discovered. The reaction mechanism involves the application of an electric field that narrows the width of the reaction barrier, thereby allowing hydrogen atoms to tunnel away from the surface. This opens the way for the manipulation of the atomic-scale transport channels of hydrogen, which could be important in hydrogen storage.

Wearable electronic devices for health and fitness monitoring are a rapidly growing area of consumer electronics; one of their biggest limitations is the capacity of their tiny batteries to deliver enough power to transmit data. Now, researchers have found a promising new approach to delivering the short but intense bursts of power needed by such small devices.