MIT researchers developed a manufacturing technique that rapidly generates large quantities of nanoparticles coated with drug-delivering polymers, which hold great potential for treating cancer. The particles can be targeted directly to tumors, where they release their payload while avoiding many of the side effects of traditional chemotherapy.

Here, researchers from Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics propose to control thermal stress at coating interfaces during laser induction processes and demonstrate a novel process for precisely graphenizing ultra-thin diamond coating surface through laser induction and mechanical cleavage, without damaging the substrates.

Their work provides an effective and cost-efficient avenue to overcome application bottlenecks in engineered diamond surfaces, expanding their use in friction pairs such as cutting tools, bearings, and mechanical seals. Moreover, it may facilitate advancements in multicarbon heterostructures and their preparation methods, supporting potential applications in electronics, aviation, and biomedicine involving diamond, graphene, and all-carbon devices.

The ways in which CEOs learn, apply what they have learned, and make decisions are significant to the innovating capabilities of SMEs, states Jutta Mäkipelkola in her doctoral dissertation at the University of Vaasa, Finland. Her research reveals how the skills of CEOs shape the capabilities of SMEs – and what kind of organisational culture drives innovation. The study identified three managerial mechanisms – learning, reflection, and alignment – which strongly explain the development of capabilities in SMEs. These refer, among other things, to managers’ ability to learn, their openness to learning, and their ability not only to align what has been learned with the company’s mission and resources, but also to make decisions. Mäkipelkola's research data consisted of interviews with experts and CEOs from Finnish SMEs in the food industry.