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ETH Zurich's researchers coupled gallic acid with silicon dioxide nanoparticles to stabilize the antioxidant.

Jun 18, 2013 07:02 PM EDT

Nano-Antioxidant With Longer Shelf Life For Better Anti-Aging Cremes and Food

Scientists from ETH Zurich have developed a nanomaterial that protects other molecules from oxidation. Unlike many such active substances in the past, the ETH-Zurich researchers' antioxidant has a long shelf life, which makes it just the ticket for industrial applications.

Jun 18, 2013 02:06 PM EDT

New Way to Distinguish Between Neighboring Quantum Bits: Spin

We may be even closer to creating a large-scale quantum computer. Scientists have proposed a new way to distinguish between quantum bits, or qubits, that are placed only a few nanometers apart in a silicon chip. It's all about spin.

Jun 17, 2013 05:28 PM EDT

Construction of Antimatter Factory Extension at CERN Started

A ground-breaking ceremony today marked the start of construction of an extension to CERN's antimatter facility. Infrastructure currently housed in the Antiproton Decelerator (AD) hall will be moved into this extension to make space for a new decelerator, the Extra-Low-Energy Antiproton ring (ELENA)...

Jun 17, 2013 04:25 PM EDT

Higgs Boson Discrepancies Bring Renewed Attention to Multiverse Theory

Some top scientists are beginning to worry that a radical idea proposed in 1997 by three University of Delaware physicists may be right.

Jun 17, 2013 08:05 AM EDT

Scientists Move 15-Ton, 50-Foot-Wide Magnet from New York to Chicago (Video)

When you have a 50-foot-wide magnet that weighs 15 tons, odds are you're not going to move it anywhere fast--even if you're one of the scientists on Long Island that have worked with the magnet for years. The researchers plan to move the massive magnet from New York to Chicago with an expected trave...

Jun 14, 2013 11:06 PM EDT

Major Spintronics Breakthrough: Graphene's Magnetic Properties Can Now Be Controlled

In a major breakthrough for possible futuristic atom-scale spintronic transistors, wonder material graphene can actually be made magnetic and importantly, its magnetism switched on and off at the press of a button. This opens up a new avenue towards electronics with very low energy consumption, acco...

Jun 14, 2013 09:54 PM EDT

Long Sought Platinum Catalyst Alternative Found in Novel Nanoparticle

A team of researchers has found that an important chemical reaction that generates hydrogen from water is effectively triggered -- or catalyzed -- by a nanoparticle composed of nickel and phosphorus, two inexpensive elements that are abundant on Earth. The results of the group led by Raymond Schaak,...

International Linear Collider is tipped to be one of the most exciting scientific instruments ever built

Jun 14, 2013 09:37 PM EDT

The International Linear Collider is Coming - Why Do We Need It?

On Wednesday, a team of around 2,000 scientists and engineers from three hundred universities around the world (the Linear Collider Collaboration) published the ILC Technical Design Report. The report describes the physics case to build the new collider, as well as the accelerator’s design and the...

Jun 13, 2013 10:27 AM EDT

New Material Defies Laws of Physics by Expanding When Squeezed

When you squeeze something, it usually gets smaller. Now it seems that scientists have defied these laws of physics, creating a new material that expands when it's squeezed.

quantum simulator of ETH’s researchers atoms (red and blue) take the role of electrons

Jun 12, 2013 04:08 PM EDT

A Quantum Simulator For Magnetic Materials

Physicists at ETH Zurich have developed a quantum simulator that allows arranging atoms in a way that they mimic the behaviour of electrons in magnetic materials. The experiment opens up the possibility of systematically studying poorly understood properties of novel materials. The fresh insights mi...

Jun 12, 2013 02:34 PM EDT

Quantum Entanglement: Spooky Action Put to Order

A property known as «entanglement» is a fundamental characteristic of quantum mechanics. Physicists and mathematicians at ETH Zurich show now how different forms of this phenomenon can be efficiently and systematically classified into categories. The method should help to fully exploit the potenti...

flow of millions of water molecules through long Carbon Nanotubes.

Jun 11, 2013 03:29 PM EDT

Limitless Clean Water Everywhere: Carbon Nanotubes Could Make it Happen, Or Can They?

There were high hopes of using carbon nanotubes, particularly for ultra-fast water transport to desalinate seawater. However, a simulation now reveals that these ultra-fast transport rates might have not been properly grounded after all. Researchers who work with experiments and computer models have...