a blog by the NSF Center for Sustainable Nanotechnology
Every year the Nobel Prizes bring some extra attention to science in the award categories of medicine, physics, and chemistry. This is a great opportunity for the general public to hear about science, but it can pose some communication challenges. How do you explain, for example, "theoretical discoveries of topological phase transitions and topological phases …
Continue reading "How to Understand Nobel Science? Food!"
The term “terrorism” is becoming quite ubiquitous in our everyday lives. It seems that you can hardly watch a news report, browse the internet, listen to a podcast, or tune into your favorite radio station without being made aware of the most recent terrorist attack that has happened here or abroad. The prevalence of these …
In the excitement of the FIFA World Cup last summer, I found myself asking, “does soccer relate to nanotechnology in any way?” After doing some research, my honest answer is, not really. However, while doing my research, I did discover that researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology are playing “nano soccer games” to …
Continue reading "Nanorobots can play nanosoccer and a whole lot more"
One of the largest oil spills in recent history happened in April 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico when the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded and sank, resulting in the blowout of the Macondo well located approximately 66 km off the Louisiana coast. Oil spills, or the accidental release of liquid petroleum into the environment, …
Continue reading "Using Nano/Micromachines to Help Clean Up Oil Spills"
Imagine tiny gadgets wandering around in your bloodstream, travelling into your cells to seek out infections and fight diseases... Does it sound too fantastic to be true? Let’s explore just how close this science fiction scenario is to a reality. Before we get too far into this story, let’s first see where the idea of …
Continue reading "Teeny Tiny Motors That Fit in Your Body"
Not too long ago, a team of frustrated scientists glanced up from their computer screens and saw the untapped potential beyond their lab doors. They had spent years trying to unravel the mysteries of protein folding, but some just couldn’t seem to be solved. Why not harness the brainpower of the public? The biochemists disguised …
Continue reading "Citizen nanoscientists: Can you design nanomaterials from the couch?"
To me, one of the most interesting aspects of nanotechnology is how close in size the nanoparticles we can make are to the nano-sized components of living organisms. These nano sized proteins, lipids and nucleic acids have evolved to form the network of biological machines to support the abundance of life on this planet. Just as …
Continue reading "Nature’s Nanomachines Harnessed to Enable Healthier Delicious Ice Cream"
Sustainable Nano 