While the scientists that developed these newfangled ingestible microgrippers call them minimally invasive, we're not so sure that swallowing minuscule devices that can cut and grab tissue when chemically activated fits our definition of keyhole surgery. Nevertheless, tiny "handlike grippers" are currently being shown off to highly intelligent professionals in the medical realm, and if proven feasible, they could one day be used to perform biopsies from within. More specifically, the devices could reportedly "react to the biochemicals released by infected tissue by closing around the tissue, so that pieces can be removed for analysis." Yeah, we reckon this is a bit less painful than actually going under the knife, but the mere thought of having blade-wielding microorganisms floating around our innards spooks us just a wee bit. Go on, fling your "pansies!" this way -- we can take it.

[Via medGadget]

It's hard to say when we, the consumers, will actually see any real benefit from the latest noteworthy discovery from Northeastern University, but we can only imagine that Srinivas Sridhar and team aren't wasting any time moving things forward. Said crew has recently created a "new microlens that focuses infrared light at telecommunication frequencies," and if you're looking for specifics, it can focus an infrared beam to a spot just 12-micrometers away from the surface. The science behind the discovery is probably only digestible by those that understand rocket science, but the long of short of it is this: the "research shows that it is possible to create smaller, ultra-compact infrared optical components that can be integrated into existing semiconductor technologies while not sacrificing image quality." Now that's something even the layman can appreciate.

[Via Physorg]

In the never-ending quest to make even the smallest devices on Earth a touch smaller, a talented team of MIT engineers have developed a method for creating and installing microbatteries, which could eventually power a plethora of diminutive devices including "labs-on-a-chip and implantable medical sensors." It's bruited that this is the first time in which "microcontact printing has been used to fabricate and position microbattery electrodes and the first use of virus-based assembly in such a process," and while you'd likely have to be a colleague to even digest that, the take away is that these gurus are one step closer to generating battery-powered Scrubbing Bubbles. And your shower could use 'em.

[Via PCMag]

Hard to say if this solution will be cheaper than the bordering-on-free LifeStraw, but a team at the University of South Australia has developed a low-cost method for removing bacteria and other contaminants from water "using tiny particles of pure silica coated with an active nano-material." Professor Peter Majewski is pretty proud of the all new system, stating that it can "remove bacteria, chemicals, viruses and other contaminants from water much more effectively than conventional water purification methods." Due to its ability to function sans additional energy and its low overall cost, the team is hoping to see the creation bring clean water to developing countries. The best part? It should be available within two years.

[Via Protein OS]

The Tigers down at Clemson University are doing more than deciding whether an all-purple uniform really sends a sense of fear to the opponent, as they're also crafting shock-absorbing carbon springs which could theoretically protect gadgets when they crash to the ground. In working with researchers at UC San Diego, the crew has determined that layers of tiny coiled carbon nanotubes can act as "extremely resilient shock absorbers." The team envisions their discovery finding its way into body armor, car bumpers, bushings and even in shoe soles, but we're hoping that cellphones and PMPs get lined with this stuff to protect from those butter-finger moments.

[Via Physorg]

The latest in nanowire research has a crew at the University of California, Berkeley creating the very first integrated circuit "that uses nanowires as both sensors and electronic components." By utilizing a so-called "simple" printing technique, the researchers were able to create a batch of uniform circuits that could one day serve as image sensors. According to Ali Javey, an electrical-engineering professor at the institution, the goal is to "develop all-nanowire sensors" which could be used in a wide array of applications, and the benefit of using 'em is their exceptionally high level of sensitivity. In due time, the gurus would like to make everything on the circuit printable, though we have this strange feeling we won't be seeing any actual results from all of this for years to come.

We're only at the nano scale folks so you'll have to keep those high school fantasies of an invisibility-cloaked romp through the girls' locker room tucked away for now. Still, two teams of US government funded researchers under the direction of Xian Zhanga at UC Berkeley say that they've developed a material which can bend visible light around 3D objects, effectively making them disappear. While similar to the negative refractive properties of materials developed back in 2006, UCB's so-called meta-material is easier to work with and absorbs far less light than those earlier products. As such, the material could scale to the size of invisibility cloaks to hide objects such as tanks or mischievous boy-wizards. However, that day is a long ways off. In the short term, the meta-material will most likely find use in the far less interesting (to consumers, anyway) application of building better microscopes. Hey, Xian, picture of your invisible material or it didn't happen... oh, wait.

[Via BBC News]

Not that mad scientists haven't figured out a way to convert waste heat into energy, but a team from Ohio State University has developed a new material that does the same sort of thing... just way, way better. The new material goes by the name thallium-doped lead telluride, and at least in theory, it could actually convert exhaust heat from vehicles into electricity. According to a new report about to hit the journal Science, the material packs "twice the efficiency of anything currently on the market," though it still seems as if it's a good ways out from being ready for commercial applications. Nanotechnology geeks -- you've got a real treat waiting in the read link.

[Via CNET]

Carbon nanotubes may very well kill you (okay, so that's very much a stretch), but you'll have a hard time convincing the dutiful scientists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to stop their promising research. Put simply (or as simply as possible), said researchers have discovered that "networks of single-walled carbon nanotubes printed onto bendable plastic perform well as semiconductors in integrated circuits." So well, in fact, that the nanotube networks could one day "replace organic semiconductors in applications such as flexible displays." Granted, there is still much to do before these networks are ready for product integration, but you can bet these folks aren't hitting the brakes after coming this far.

Nanotubes are the stuff invisible dreams are made of, producing batteries, ramen, tiny chips, and in this case, invisible tightropes. Nicola Pugno of the Polytechnic of Turin in Italy has figured out a way to spread invisible nanotubes 5 micrometers apart that he says could support an entire human. The resulting "cable" would measure 1 centimeter in diameter and weigh just 10 milligrams per kilometer. So, what would we do with this ultra-strong, invisible cable? Support things that weigh about as much as humans do, naturally. Really, though, this means that super-strong, super-small cables are coming, and architecture could be changed forever. Other uses abound, for sure, but we'll leave that speculation to the science guys.

[Via NewScientistTech]

We've always heard that Chewbacca and friends had the power to control nanoscale strain in processors in a galaxy far, far away, but we Earthlings are just now getting caught up. Researchers at the Centre d'élaboration de matériaux et d'études structurales (CEMES-CNRS) have reportedly patented a measurement device that will essentially "enable manufacturers to improve microprocessor production methods and optimize future computers." We'll warn you, the meat of this stuff is pretty technical, but the take home is this: the technique has a good chance at "optimizing strain modeling in transistors and enhancing their electrical efficiency," which is just what we need for more potent chips that demand less energy. And that's something even a layman can appreciate.

So much for Ballmer's vision of a paperless world -- that is, if the mighty nanofiber paper has anything to do with it. This new paper is made out of the same cellulose your regulation legal pad, but scientists at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden were able to get the fiber so small and defect-free in this version -- about 1,000 times smaller -- that it's more than seven times as strong. By breaking down wood pulp with enzymes and beating it mechanically and then treating the tiny fibers with carboxymethanol, they were able to get the new paper to a tensile strength of 214 megapascals (MPa) compared with the normal 30 MPa. So, why should you care? It's entirely possible that this stuff could replace plastic bags at stores without all the petroleum waste.

[Via OhGizmo]

A team of astute MIT researchers have developed a sophisticated new material that could help control, contain and lessen the environmental impact of future oil spills. The creation is a mat of nanowires that actually looks a lot like paper, but unlike the material your paycheck gets printed on, this stuff can "selectively absorb hydrophobic liquids (oil-like liquids) from water." We're talking about a membrane that can "absorb up to 20 times its weight in oil, and can be recycled many times for future use." Outside of this, it could also be used in water filtration processes and for designing the next great wetsuit. Okay, so we're making that last one up, but don't dare say it's beyond the realm of possibility.

[Via NewScientist]

Now that just looks extra scrumptious, doesn't it? What you're peering at above is believed to be the world's tiniest ramen bowl, created by a clever bunch of scientists from the University of Tokyo. Reportedly, Masayuki Nakao and his students "used a carbon-based material to produce a noodle bowl with a diameter 1 / 25,000 of an inch in a project aimed at developing nanotube-processing technology." In other words, they carved a bowl out of nanotubes, which can now only be viewed through a microscope. Best of all, they didn't stop with just the dinnerware, as they managed to insert a number of inedible noodles to round things off -- each of which measured "one-12,500th of an inch in length with a thickness of one-1.25 millionth of an inch." Don't get any bright ideas here, McDonald's, ditching SuperSize was bad enough.

We're pretty certain the world's big enough for the both of 'em, but a graphene-polymer hybrid developed by a brilliant team from Northwestern University could prove to be a suitable -- and much cheaper -- alternative to polymer-infused carbon nanotubes. Put simply, graphite can be purchased for dollars per pound, while single-walled nanotubes are hundreds of dollars per gram. A breakthrough has found that tough, lightweight materials can be created by "spreading a small amount of graphene, a single-layer flat sheet of carbon atoms, throughout polymers," and these composites could eventually be used to make lighter car and airplane parts (among other things). We won't kid you, there's a lot of technobabble in the read link below, but it's well worth the read if your inner nerd is up for it.