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“But none of this dismay from those on the right has stopped donors from chipping in big bucks to fill her campaign coffers, which currently boast $2.58 million in cash on hand to defend her seat.” “The haul dwarfs the $1.5 million raised in the same period by Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), who replaced Cheney as the No. 3-ranking GOP member in the House...”

Carbon nanotubes can be degraded by an enzyme found in human immune cells, report US researchers.  The results suggest that nanotubes - which may find use in a range of applications spanning medicine and materials - may not be as harmful to human health as previously feared. Determining just how toxic carbon nanotubes are has become one of the most pressing questions in nanotechnology, due to the myriad of applications they could be used in. Previous studies have compared nanotubes to asbestos, and just like asbestos fibres, nanotubes are too long to be enveloped by macrophages - the immune cells that usually swallow...

Carbon nanotubes are wrapped in TNA © Nature Materials A fundamentally new type of power generation may be on the horizon thanks to researchers in the US and Korea who have created a nanotube 'fuse' that harnesses the energy from chemical reactions. The device converts chemical energy into electrical energy, yet is so small compared with traditional batteries that it opens the door to applications such as floating sensors or new fuel cells. Carbon nanotubes are known to have unusually high thermal conductivity because of a streamlined way in which packets of heat energy, known as phonons, can travel through...

Paper has been getting beat by electronics for years. But it may be about to stage a comeback. Researchers are reporting that they've made batteries and other energy-storage devices by printing layers of carbon nanotube–based ink atop standard photocopy paper. The result is a highly conductive sheet that can carry a charge and be easily incorporated into a flexible battery. Because of paper's low cost, that could help lower the price of batteries used in electric vehicles, wind farms, and other renewable sources. The idea of using paper to make a lightweight, flexible battery isn't new. Researchers led by Robert...

Chinese chemists have made sturdy nanotube sponges that can selectively absorb oil and volatile chemicals in preference to water. The sponges float on water and can absorb up almost 180 times their own weight in oil, giving them great potential for mopping up industrial spillages. 'We are very excited about the potential of our material,' says Anyuan Cao, who led the work at Peking University, Beijing, China. 'The sponges can absorb a variety of oils - from volatile solvents to thick and sticky oil - but they are also elastic and robust. They can be wrung out like towels and re-used,...

Further evidence for the asbestos-like effects of carbon nanotubes has emerged from a new study in mice. The study shows for the first time that the tubes reach the outer lining of the lung when inhaled - as asbestos does. But researchers say the results should be interpreted with caution.Carbon nanotubes, like asbestos, have high aspect ratios; in other words, they are long and thin, meaning they have the potential to get stuck when trying to cross the two layered membrane - the pleura - separating the lung from the chest wall. In the case of asbestos, fibres can dwell...

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