When a group of researchers at the Ecole Polytechnique (EP) in Palaiseau , near Paris, created a new nanomaterial-based sensor for monitoring heavy metals in drinking water, they had to address a ...

If you wear glasses, you are probably reading this article by looking through a tiny, transparent layer of nanomaterial.

Detecting a single photon may seem overkill for most purposes. However, looking at such tiny amounts of light is essential for researchers working  with quantum computers as well as for  chip manufacturers, just to mention two examples.

The story began a few years ago, when two scientists from the University of Delft (see related story) developed a way to double the efficiency of currently available single photons detectors.

If you have been left high and dry by your iPad battery and unable to recharge it, you see  the problem. High tech gadgets, electronic appliances and electric cars have a well-know downside: sooner or later, you need to look for a plug - and a power grid- to keep them alive.

More than a century after their discovery, X-rays still claim their place in medicine and science.

Heavy metals coming from industrial waste, such as mercury, lead, cadmium, nickel, and zinc are some of the most dreaded pollutants in water, and EU laws strictly limit their concentration in the water we drink.