Gold

E-waste is a major environmental hazard, full of valuable metals. Engineers at Rice University have now shown that precious metals and rare earth minerals can be recovered by flash-heating ground-up electronics with a zap of electricity.

Many renewable energy technologies require metals that are mined through environmentally destructive processes. Now, Oxford scientists are investigating a new way to mine valuable metals trapped in hot brines beneath volcanoes.

When a patient is receiving medication, it can be difficult to determine how much of the drug is actually making its way into their bloodstream. A new subdermal "tattoo" could help, thanks to its color-changing gold nanoparticles.

While there are glasses that help compensate for red-green color blindness, the lenses often can't be shaped to users' prescriptions. That's why scientists are developing a new type of corrective contact lens, inspired by old gold-containing glass.

Researchers at Brown University have developed a new way to make super-hard metals, up to four times harder than usual. The team made nanoparticle “building blocks” that could be fused together under pressure, thanks to a chemical treatment.

We have seen how gold nanoparticles can fight cancer in a number of ways, but they aren’t without their problems. Scientists in Japan have found a solution to one of these drawbacks, through the careful addition of a ring-shaped synthetic compound.

Tiny nanoscale materials offer unique properties. A research team has demonstrated how an adaptation of this technology can be used to tackle mesothelioma, a hard-to-treat cancer caused by asbestos exposure, with a little help from laser light.

Gold has shown promise in fighting cancer in many studies, and now researchers have found a way to grow gold nanoparticles inside cancer cells within 30 minutes. From there, the gold can help with imaging and even be heated up to kill the tumors.

Not all maple syrups are created equal. There are actually over 60 taste categories that syrups fall into, as determined by human taste-testers. Soon, though, a solution containing gold nanoparticles could save those people some work.

The colorful glaze on that ceramic mug of yours may look nice, but there's a chance that it could contain toxic substances. US scientists have thus created a safer type of glaze, that incorporates tiny particles of silver and gold.

While we've already heard about light-activated germ-killing coatings, they generally require either ultraviolet or high-intensity light. A new one, however, works with regular low-intensity light, as might be found in offices or waiting rooms.

Phages, viruses that thrive by infecting bacteria, have long been mooted as a potential replacement for antibiotics, but they pose risks due to their own rapid evolution. New research suggests it may be possible to mitigate their risks.