geekosystem

Researchers looking for new insights on how cells interact in three dimensions have a new tool for their studies -- nanoscale pyramid structures with open sides. These new structures allow researchers to capture individual cells for study, while still exploring how those cells interact with their surroundings and with other cells.

Northwestern University researchers can put a tiny little feather in their hat today as they have announced the creation of the world's smallest working laser -- one about the size of a virus. The incredibly miniaturized laser can operate at room temperature, and, even more impressively, seems to defy the diffraction limit of light using a nano-scale laser cavity that's shaped like a bowtie. Bill Nye must be so very proud right now.

3D printing is getting easier, more cost effective, and more household friendly every year. Some of its most impressive applications, though -- like its potential in the world of medicine -- won't be making their home debuts anytime soon. This is because while printing, say, a Mario statue in your Makerbot is very simple, printing things on a nanometer scale is still very hard. Doable, but very, very hard. Researchers at the Vienna University of Technology have made a step toward simplifying that task, though, using a laser beam to place single molecules on structures just a few nanometers wide.