Researchers from Kansas State University developed improved electron-tunneling based humidity, pressure or temperature sensing devices using graphene quantum dots. Those devices are more responsive in vacuum compared to most sensors. They will be able to detect trace amounts of water on Mars, for example.

To create the Quantum Dots, the researchers used nanoscale graphite cuttings to produce graphene nanoribbons. Chemically cleaving those ribbons into 100 nanometer sized pieces created the quantum dots.

Graphene Platform started to offer large single-layer, single-crystal graphene samples. Graphene Platform offers these new sheets up to 10x10 mm in size, and they say it's the world's largest such material on offer.

These sheets have a defect-free, perfect six-membered rings structure and so offer high electron mobility and excellent optical, mechanical and thermal properties. The company offers these graphene sheets on Silicon Carbide (SiC).

Researchers from the Irish nanoscience institute CRANN developed a new graphene-based sensor technology that could become a new platform for low-energy, remotely powered sensors for all sorts of applications. One such application, specifically mentioned by the researchers is air quality control systems in automobiles. Other applications may include bacteria and parasite detection and diseases diagnosis.

The researchers developed what they refer to as Chemically Modulated Graphene Diodes (or GDS). These are made from a single layer of graphene on silicon. The graphene is exposed to liquids or gases and the diode can be made (by different doping) so that various absorbates will transfer charge.

Garmor is a new company spun-off from the University of Central Florida (UCF) to commercialize a new low-cost graphene production process. The company received $300,000 from the Institute for Commercialization of Public Research.

Apparently Garmor hopes to achieve volume graphene production and sell the material directly. The company will also offer customized product development.

The University of Manchester announced that world-leading nanomedicine expert, Professor Kostas Kostarelos will join the University in June. Kostas is already collaborating with Manchester's Professor Andre Geim and Professor Kostya Novoselov on graphene-based products for medicine applications. Kostas is focused on targeted drug delivery.

Professor Kostarelos is also researching nano-technology treatment for cancer.

Cheap Tubes updates us on their graphene paper R&D. They have produced five samples and sent them to an independent laboratory for resistivity measurements. Cheap Tubes reports that they have achieved milliohm resistivity for graphene paper. Cheap Tubes plans to continue their R&D for both resistivity and scalability (on small scale and large scale samples). 

Cheap Tubes recently bought second hand equipment that will be used in their graphene paper R&D. The company bought this used equipment at an auction (it was previously used by now-bankrupt solar panel maker Konarka) and will install it in its new Rockingham, Vermont facility. Cheap Tubes is partnering with American Graphite Technologies, which supplies them with graphite materials. AGT is a publicly traded mineral exploration and technology development company.

Xolve signed an agreement with London's NTT Carbon Fiber Group to co-develop products for the aerospace industry. Xolve's graphene will be combined with NTT's epoxy resins and these new materials could be used to produce products such as airplane parts or even an airplane wing. This is just an early research work however, and Xolve says it could take anywhere from 18 months to give years till this is commercialized.

Back in 2010 Xolve raised $2 million, and the company is working to commercialize intellectual property that enables simple room temperature processing of graphene and other nanoparticle composites, solutions and coatings. You can read an interesting interview with the company's R&D VP here.

According to Reuters, researchers from the University College London is researching graphene nanomaterials for medicine applications, and is already in pre-clinical experiments. Unfortunately we do not have more information about this specific research,

Researchers from RIKEN have performed detailed simulations and came up with the conclusion that achieving a quantum spin liquid state in 2D materials may be more difficult than previously thought. In this state, quantum-mechanical effects hinder the development of atomic order while retaining strong electronic interactions.

It was shown through theoretical studies that a quantum spin liquid phase could exist in 2D materials in which the atoms are arranged in a hexagonal network (like in graphene). The new simulations the researchers found no evidence of an intermediate spin liquid phase.

Andrew Koltonow won first place at the annual Northwestern's Science in Society's science imaging competition, with his beautiful "cosmic" microscopic image of graphene oxide: