5-Mar-2026
#Polymers that crawl like worms: How #materials can develop direction without being told where to go
New findings can help to better understand #DNA dynamics in living #cells
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1118843
#science #nanoworld
Polymers that crawl like worms: How materials can develop direction without being told where to go
Researchers at the University of Vienna have uncovered a surprising phenomenon: polymer chains with segments that simply fluctuate at different intensities can spontaneously develop directional, persistent motion when densely packed – even though nothing in the system points them in any particular direction. This "entropic tug of war," driven by fundamental physical constraints, could help explain how DNA organizes and moves inside living cells, and may lead to new materials. The study was currently published in Physical Review X.
18-Feb-2026
#SelfOrganization
of cell-sized #chiral rotating actin rings driven by a chiral #myosin
Researchers explore how actin filaments and a motor protein can spontaneously give rise to cell-sized structures
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1116748
#science #nanoworld
Self-organization of cell-sized chiral rotating actin rings driven by a chiral myosin
Understanding how microscopic interactions between proteins in cells produce large-scale organization and asymmetry is a fundamental question in cell biology. In a recent study, researchers from Japan investigated how actin and myosin create cell-scale structures using experimental setup. They found that Chara corallina myosin XI—a fast motor protein—drives actin filaments into large unidirectionally rotating rings. Their findings reveal physical principles of self-organization, inspiring new ways to design self-organizing biomimetic materials for biotechnological applications.
14-Jan-2026
Snowflakes just got #metal: Researchers discover emergence phenomenon in metal nanocrystals
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1112736
#science #nanoworld #crystals
Snowflakes just got metal: Researchers discover emergence phenomenon in metal nanocrystals
In a new study from Northern Arizona University, a group of researchers discovered that when fabricated gold, copper and iron nanocrystals clump together during a lightning-fast chemical reaction, they form pentagonal constructs that strongly resemble natural snowflakes, a phenomenon that holds incredible implications for the future of nanotechnology.
Science history: Richard Feynman gives a fun little lecture — and dreams up an entirely new field of physics — Dec. 29, 1959
In a short talk at Caltech, physicist Richard Feynman laid out a vision of manipulating and controlling atoms at the tiniest scale. It would precede the field of nanotechnology by decades.
Malaria parasites are full of wildly spinning iron crystals. Scientists finally know why.
The first known metallic nanomotor in biology is powered by rocket fuel.
28-Oct-2025
#Molecules bend, properties change! #Nanographene transforms through oxidation
Structural changes and electronic properties of pyrrole-fused aza-nanographene revealed based on oxidation state
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1103603
#science #nanoworld #chemistry
20-Oct-2025
Did marine life in the palaeocene use a #compass?
Based on a sophisticated method, an international team has succeeded in mapping #magnetic domains in giant fossilised magnetic #microparticles: these may have served as compasses for ancient organisms
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1102450
#science #nanoworld #evolution #astrobiology #magnetotactic #microbiology
Did marine life in the palaeocene use a compass?
Some ancient marine organisms produced mysterious magnetic particles of unusually large size, which can now be found as fossils in marine sediments. An international team has succeeded in mapping the magnetic domains on one of such ‘giant magnetofossils’ using a sophisticated method at the Diamond X-ray source. Their analysis shows that these particles could have allowed these organisms to sense tiny variations in both the direction and intensity of the Earth’s magnetic field, enabling them to geolocate themselves and navigate across the ocean. The method offers a powerful tool for magnetically testing whether putative biological iron oxide particles in Mars samples have a biogenic origin.
Researchers ‘zoom’ in for an ultra-magnified peek at shark skin
What gives shark skin its toughness and sleek glide? Tiny, tooth-like scales called dermal denticles. Made of the same material as teeth, these structures protect sharks and reduce drag—especially crucial during mating. To uncover how denticles change with age and between sexes, researchers used high-powered electron microscopy on bonnethead sharks. The ultra-detailed images revealed striking variations in denticle shape and size across life stages and body regions. The findings offer a rare glimpse into how shark skin evolves as both armor and adaptation.
Atom-scale stencil patterns help nanoparticles take new shapes and learn new tricks
Inspired by an artist’s stencils, researchers have developed atomic-level precision patterning on nanoparticle surfaces, allowing them to “paint” gold nanoparticles with polymers to give them an array of new shapes and functions. The “patchy nanoparticles” developed by University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers and collaborators at the University of Michigan and Penn State University can be made in large batches, used for a variety of electronic, optical or biomedical applications, or used as building blocks for new complex materials and metamaterials.
10-Oct-2025
Molecular ‘Chinese lantern’ structure shifts into more than a dozen shapes for various applications
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1101014
#science #chemistry #nanoworld #polymer #molecule
‘Chinese lantern’ structure shifts into more than a dozen shapes for various applications
Researchers have created a polymer “Chinese lantern” that can snap into more than a dozen curved, three-dimensional shapes by compressing or twisting the original structure. This rapid shape-shifting behavior can be controlled remotely using a magnetic field, allowing the structure to be used for a variety of applications.
michael