Materials researchers love sea creatures. Mother-of-pearl provokes ideas for smooth surfaces, clams inspire gluey substances, shark's skin is used to develop materials that reduce drag in water, and so on. Researchers have now found a model for strong, lightweight materials by diving below the sea surface to investigate a sea urchin cousin known as the heart urchin.
Nov 10th, 2015
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Engineers have developed a method to make synthetic, sticky hydrogel that is more than 90 percent water. The hydrogel, which is a transparent, rubber-like material, can adhere to surfaces such as glass, silicon, ceramics, aluminum, and titanium with a toughness comparable to the bond between tendon and cartilage on bone.
Nov 10th, 2015
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Electron microscopy researchers have developed a unique way to build 3-D structures with finely controlled shapes as small as one to two nanometers.
Nov 9th, 2015
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Scientists have developed a technique to make titanium stronger without sacrificing any of the metal's ductility - a combination that no one has achieved before. The researchers believe the technique could also be used for other metals, and the advance has potential applications for creating more energy-efficient vehicles.
Nov 9th, 2015
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Silver nanowires hold promise for applications such as flexible displays and solar cells, but their susceptibility to damage from highly energetic UV radiation and harsh environmental conditions has limited their commercialization. New research suggests wrapping the nanowires with an ultrathin layer of carbon called graphene protects the structures from damage and could represent a key to realizing their commercial potential.
Nov 9th, 2015
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An international collaboration of scientists has developed a technique they dubbed 'gas adsorption crystallography' that provides a new way to study the process by which metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are able to store immense volumes of gases such a carbon dioxide, hydrogen and methane. This new look at MOFs led to a discovery that holds promise for the improved design of MOFs tailored specifically for carbon capture, or for the use of hydrogen and natural gas fuels.
Nov 9th, 2015
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Scientists have developed a new technique using nanobodies. Employing the so-called 'Morphotrap', the distribution of the morphogen Dpp, which plays an important role in wing development, could be selectively manipulated and analyzed for the first time in the fruit fly.
Nov 9th, 2015
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Perfect absorbers capture specific wavelengths from the visible to the infrared spectrums.
Nov 9th, 2015
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Researchers are proposing a unique nanostructure and established a methodology for the development of a material in which heat and electricity conductions can be controlled simultaneously.
Nov 9th, 2015
Read moreResearchers have demonstrated an innovative way of using a gel to extract precious metals such as silver and gold from waste and convert them into conducting nanoparticles to form a hybrid nanomaterial potentially suitable for a range of high-tech applications.
Nov 9th, 2015
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An applied potential can reversibly induce a superconducting-insulator transition in lithium titanate thin films.
Nov 7th, 2015
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Researchers are using nanoparticles to boost the nutrient content and growth of tomato plants. Taking a clue from their work with solar cells, the team found that by using zinc oxide and titanium dioxide nanoparticles, the tomato plants better absorbed light and minerals, and the fruit had higher antioxidant content.
Nov 7th, 2015
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Scientists have developed a new way of making fuel cell membranes using nanoscale fasteners, paving the way for lower-cost, higher-efficiency and more easily manufactured fuel cells.
Nov 6th, 2015
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A major showcase of companies developing new technologies from graphene and other two-dimensional materials took place this week at the Cambridge Graphene Centre.
Nov 6th, 2015
Read moreAn international collaboration has produced the first in vitro model of the outer membrane of the bacteria E. coli providing a tool for developing new antibiotics and other drugs.
Nov 6th, 2015
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New technique using existing technologies allows unprecedented views of cells and other soft materials.
Nov 6th, 2015
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