— Biocompatible graphene transistor array reads cellular signals — Researchers have demonstrated, for the first time, a graphene-based transistor array that is compatible with living biological cells and capable of recording the electrical signals…
— Researchers find some smartphone models more vulnerable to attack — New research from North Carolina State University shows that some smartphones specifically designed to support the Android mobile platform have incorporated additional features that…
— MIT: New algorithm may improve defensive driving — In 2008, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2.3 million automobile crashes occurred at intersections across the United States, resulting in some 7,000…
— Researchers use CT to recreate Stradivarius violin — Using computed tomography (CT) imaging and advanced manufacturing techniques, a team of experts has created a reproduction of a 1704 Stradivarius violin. Three-dimensional images of…
— Terminator-style info-vision takes step towards reality — The streaming of real-time information across your field of vision is a step closer to reality with the development of a prototype contact lens that could potentially provide the wearer…
— Scientists invent long-lasting, near infrared-emitting material — Materials that emit visible light after being exposed to sunlight are commonplace and can be found in everything from emergency signage to glow-in-the-dark stickers. But until now,…
— Team of researchers develop world's lightest material — A team of researchers from UC Irvine, HRL Laboratories and the California Institute of Technology have developed the world's lightest material - with a density of 0.9 mg/cc - about…
— Humans can control a cursor with power of thought — The act of mind reading is something usually reserved for science-fiction movies but researchers in America have used a technique, usually associated with identifying epilepsy, for…
— Nanoparticles improve solar collection efficiency — Using minute graphite particles 1000 times smaller than the width of a human hair, mechanical engineers at Arizona State University hope to boost the efficiency - and profitability…
Striding towards a new dawn for electronics
Conductive polymers are plastic materials with high electrical conductivity that promise to revolutionise a wide range of products including TV displays, solar cells, and biomedical sensors. A team of McGill University researchers have now reported how to visualise and study the process of energy transport along one single conductive polymer molecule at a time, a key step towards bringing these exciting new applications to market. 'We may easily study energy transport in a cable as thick as a hair, but imagine studying this process in a single polymer molecule, whose thickness is one-millionth of that!' said Dr Gonzalo Cosa of McGill's Department of Chemistry, lead researcher.
Working in collaboration with Dr Isabelle Rouiller of McGill's Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, the team used state-of-the-art optical and electron microscopes and were able to entrap the polymer molecules into vesicles - tiny sacs smaller than a human body cell. The researchers visualised their ability to transport energy in various conformations.
'This research is novel because we are able to look at energy transport in individual polymer molecules rather than obtaining measurements arising from a collection of billions of them. It's like looking at the characteristics of a single person rather than having to rely on census data for the entire world population,' Cosa explains. Conductive polymers are long organic molecules typically referred to as nanowires. Components along the polymer backbone successfully pass energy between each other when the polymer is collapsed (coiled within itself), but the process is slowed down when the polymer backbone is extended. A greater understanding of how this process works will enable us to develop a range of technologies in the future.'
The studies are critical to applications in daily life such as sensors involving the detection and the differentiation of cells, pathogens, and toxins. They may also help in the future to develop hybrid organic-inorganic light harvesting materials for solar cells.
Or subscribe for our Newsletter, a free e-mail publication. It is published practically every day.
Nanogenerators produce electricity from running rodents
Research lab combines psychology with technology
Are all sites harmful to your computer?
Is there a doctor in the house to check on this bridge?