University of Southern Mississippi scientists imitated Mother Nature by developing a new, skinny-molecule-based material that resembles cilia, the tiny, hair-like structures through which organisms derive smell, vision, hearing and fluid flow.

Light is needed to initiate a new type of atomic switch that has gaps larger than the previously required 1 nm. A series of such wavelength-dependent devices could one day be used for image recognition.

Ever wondered if your food has been kept cold enough before you buy it? Here’s a way to find out…using nanoparticles to sense and record temperature changes.