The Minister for Science, Universities, and Innovation of the Basque  Government, Juan Ignacio Perez, and the Deputy Minister for Universities  and Research, Adolfo Morais, have visited CIC nanoGUNE. The  representatives of the new department of the Basque Government met Jose M.  Pitarke and Javier Martinez Ojinaga, Director-General and President of  nanoGUNE respectively, and had the opportunity to get a close look at  the course and projection of the Basque center on nanoscience and  nanotechnology.

Researchers from CIC nanoGUNE, in collaboration with international partners, have achieved the first seamless 2D spintronics device made entirely from proximitized structures. They report a two-dimensional graphene spin valve that is enabled by proximity to the van der Waals magnet Cr₂Ge₂Te₆. Published in Nature Electronics, this innovative work lays the groundwork for a new research field and advancements in spintronics technology.

Researchers have developed a highly sensitive detector for identifying molecules via their infrared vibrational “fingerprint”. Published in Nature Communications, this innovative detector converts incident infrared light into ultra-confined "nanolight" in the form of phonon polaritons within the detector´s active area. This mechanism serves two crucial purposes: it boosts the overall detector´s sensitivity and enhances the vibrational fingerprint of nanometer-thin molecular layer placed on top of the detector, allowing this molecular fingerprint to be more easily detected and analyzed. The compact design and room-temperature operation of the device hold promise for developing ultra-compact platforms for molecular and gas sensing applications.

The Basque Nanoscience Cooperative Research Center CIC nanoGUNE has set up a new, pioneering research group in the field of advanced therapeutic and diagnostic technologies through the creation of miniaturized solutions, thus translating fundamental scientific discoveries into practical, clinical applications. The new nanoBiosystems Group, led by Ikerbasque Research Professor Dr Mariana Medina-Sánchez, will be working to transform healthcare by mainly addressing the challenges of gynecology and infertility using cutting-edge medical microrobotics and nanobiosensors. However, its work will have a wider impact by providing solutions for a range of global medical challenges.

A Galician delegation made up of the General Secretary for Universities José Alberto Díez, the deputy-rectors for research from the three public universities of Galicia, and representatives of the ten university research centres comprising the CIGUS Network of the Xunta de Galicia (regional government) visited CIC nanoGUNE.

In the announcement of this year's Nobel Prize in Physics a paper by the researcher Pablo Piaggi, an Ikerbasque Research Fellow in CIC nanoGUNE’s Theory group, is cited as a significant breakthrough. The 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded to John Hopfield and Geoffrey Hinton for laying the foundations of artificial intelligence. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has awarded this prize to the two of them for fundamental discoveries and inventions making machine learning with artificial neural networks possible.

This morning saw the inauguration of the ITSASAMPLE exhibition; it will allow visitors to immerse themselves in a hidden world, a marine universe invisible to the human eye that comes to life through stunning images of biological organisms captured with nanoGUNE's electron microscopes. The ITSASAMPLE exhibition gathers together beautiful, astonishing images of various marine species and organisms of the Aquarium of Donostia / San Sebastian, with the aim of showing the public what is hidden from their eyes. The exhibition, which opened today, can be visited until November 9 in the Nautilus room of the Aquarium of Donostia / San Sebastian.

CIC nanoGUNE has launched its seventh spin-off: Optec4Life. The enterprise will be developing a new technology to provide hospital obstetrics teams with a real-time, non-invasive, medical monitoring device to diagnose perinatal asphyxia during childbirth, thus preventing unnecessary cesarean sections and improving perinatal outcomes.

Through a joint effort, CIC nanoGUNE, BerriUp, Graphenea, Fomento de San Sebastián and BIC Gipuzkoa are seeking revolutionary ideas that harness the potential of graphene in industrial and technological applications. Entrepreneurs and companies wishing to take part must present their own original projects from 13 September to 13 October 2024. The organizing entities offer a unique set of resources to support the selected projects. 

The Nanodevices group at CIC nanoGUNE discovers that a “magic” twist endows certain materials with emerging spintronic properties. The work published in Nature Materials opens up new avenues for the development of new devices for future electronics.