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Using low current to fight biofouling on ship hulls

By Damir Beciri
7 December 2012

fraunhofer-iwm-keeping-ship-hulls-biofouling-freeIf a ship is anchored for longer periods of time, local algae, shells and barnacles colonize its hull and cause biofouling. Biofouling causes large economic losses since its growth on water vehicle hulls causes corrosion as well as higher fuel consumption. While some research groups develop surfaces which deny the initial formation, a group of… »

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Plastic FIPEL lights could be the next lighting boom

By Damir Beciri
6 December 2012

fipel-nanotechResearchers at Wake Forest University have managed to achieve a significant improvement of lighting based on field-induced polymer electroluminescent (FIPEL) technology. According to its developers, FIPEL lighting provides flicker-free soft white light and it is a shatterproof alternative for large-scale lighting with double efficiency of compact fluorescent (CFL) bulbs and on par efficiency of LED… »

Bionics| Tech»

Where art and technology meet – materials science and music

By Damir Beciri
4 December 2012

spider-silk-musicAn interdisciplinary team of researchers consisting out of civil and environmental engineers, mathematicians, biomedical engineers and musical composers from MIT, Tuffs University and Boston University, cooperated in order to develop a novel method that can be used to synthesize new variants on silk’s natural structure as well as for making further improvements in the synthetic… »

Bionics| Tech»

Improved printing of cartilage replacement constructs

By Damir Beciri
2 December 2012

cartilage-printer-1The printing of 3D tissue has taken a major step forward with the creation of a novel hybrid printer that simplifies the process of creating implantable cartilage. Researchers from the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine were able to use this technology in order to create cartilage constructs that could eventually be used to replace… »

Bionics| Tech»

Injectable shape-memory sponge delivers drugs, cells, and structure

By Damir Beciri
25 November 2012

seas-injectable-sponge-1Harvard University researchers have developed a biocompatible sponge made out of a gel-based material that can be molded into any shape and compressed to a small fraction of its size. This ability allows it to be delivered via injection and restore its original shape and size while gradually releases its cargo. Since it is biocompatible… »

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Metal oxide film transistor development breakthrough

By Damir Beciri
18 November 2012

nims-metal-oxide-transistor-1Researchers at the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) of Japan cooperated with researchers at the RIKEN Nanoscience Joint Laboratory to develop a metal oxide film transistor which utilizes a material with newly developed atomic composition. The new composition brings the use of potential amorphous silicon transistors successors in next-generation consumer displays a step closer… »

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Unidirectional invisibility cloak for microwaves gets improved

By Damir Beciri
15 November 2012

landy-microwave-invisibility-cloakDuke University’s Pratt School of Engineering researchers perfected an old research related to their “invisibility cloak” by incorporating a modification to the device’s design. Although the new design still functions in one plain (it is unidirectional), it solves one of the major flaws of the original device. These new improvements could be used to change… »

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Improving thermal energy storage tanks with a concrete layer

By Damir Beciri
One Comment13 November 2012

uark-thermocline-tesEngineering researchers at the University of Arkansas came up with a thermal energy storage system that performs as a viable alternative to other currently available methods used to store energy collected from solar panels. Use of the newly developed design could increase annual energy production while significantly decreasing production costs of concentrated solar power plants,… »