People suffering from a fear of heights experience the anxiety also in virtual reality – even though they are aware that they are not really in a dangerous situation. Credit: VTPlus

It is possible to unlearn fears. And this works even better when a specific region of the brain has previously been stimulated magnetically. This has been shown by researchers from the Würzburg University Hospital in a new study. Nearly 1 in 7 Germans suffer from an anxiety disorder. Some panic upon boarding an aircraft, others find it impossible to enter a room with a spider on the wall and again others prefer the staircase over the elevator – even to get to the tenth floor – because riding in elevators elevates their heart rate.

What sounds like funny anecdotes is often debilitating for the sufferers...

By coating gold nanoparticles in thin layers of platinum, only a few atoms thick, Xiaohu Xia’s team was able to increase the sensitivity of test strips that detect prostate-specific antigen (PSA).
Credit: Xiaohu Xia/Michigan Tech

Identifying minute concentrations is the greatest challenge of test strips that have been developed to detect everything from cancer to infectious diseases to heart problems. The actual stripe on the paper simply isn’t sensitive enough to change color for a human eye to easily see it at concentrations that make a life-changing difference. Some nanoparticle bling could change that. And it would not greatly impact the cost of current test strips.

Gold nanoparticles have been used widely for decades for in vitro diagnostics to make medical care and treatment decisions...

Carbon nanomembranes are the topic of the new ‘research_tv’ film. The membranes are only seven nanometres thick. In future, they could be used as both filters and protective layers. Credit: Bielefeld University

Physicists are producing and carrying out research on extra-thin foils. Free-standing carbon membranes that are a millionth of a millimetre thin: these are a special research field of Professor Dr. Armin Gölzhäuser from Bielefeld University and his research group. The nanomembranes can serve as ultrafine filters and as a protective layer. The Bielefeld physicists have registered several patents for manufacturing such molecular foils. In their research, they are analysing which properties the nanomembranes possess – as a basis for future applications.

If used to filter water, the c...

Spiders fed graphene produce stronger and tougher silk.
Credit: F. Tomasinelli

Natural spider silk has excellent mechanical properties. Researchers from the Graphene Flagship have found a way to boost the strength of spider’s silk using graphene-based materials, paving the way for a novel class of high-performance bionic composite.

Researchers from the Graphene Flagship have demonstrated that graphene-based materials can be used to boost the properties of spider’s silk. The silk — produced naturally by the spiders, incorporating graphene and carbon nanotubes (rolled up graphene sheets) introduced in their environment – had enhanced mechanical properties of up to 3X the strength and 10X the toughness of the unmodified silks.

Artificially modified biological materials are an expanding area of...