The same type of microwave oven technology that most people use to heat up leftover food has found a new application in the solar cell production. Engineers at Oregon State University have for the first time developed a way to use heating from microwave oven to provide a new way to make thin-film photovoltaic products… »

Researchers at the Vienna University of Technology developed a method which employs laser beams in order to perform 3D printing able to attach molecules at a desired place. Named 3D-photografting, the method could be used to grow biological tissue or to create precisely printed micro sensors with adequate marker molecules placed at to react with… »

While there are efforts to initiate production of hydrogen powered vehicles such as cars and airplanes, I believe the easiest transition toward this technology in transportation should be achieved by railway. So do the engineering students and staff at the University of Birmingham, who have designed and built a prototype hydrogen powered locomotive – the… »

An international team of scientists led by a researcher from Carnegie Institution of Washington observed the world’s first hybrid crystalline/amorphous material which is capable of indenting diamond. The material is a superhard mixture of crushed carbon spheres and a hydrocarbon solvent, which could find many potential applications for a range of mechanical, electronic, and electrochemical… »

Ever since we published the article about the lightest microlatice structure last year, I wanted to cover another interesting and light material which was created back in 1930s, and perfected in last 30 years. Aerogels (also known as solid smoke) are currently the world’s lightest solid material with astonishing insulating properties that could find their… »

Although they were invented before lasers, MASERs (Microwave Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation) didn’t quite find their use as lasers since they required specific conditions to operate. Scientists from the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) and Imperial College London managed to develop a solid-state MASER able to operate at room temperature, thus enabling its more… »

As we reported in our article about a similar technology, sunflowers are able to slowly rotate from east to west during the course of a sunny day in order to maximize the amount of received sunlight in a process called heliotropism. Researchers from University of Wisconsin-Madison found a way to create their version of a… »

After using state-of-the-art technology to screen thousands of different materials and testing their reaction to bacteria, researchers at the University of Nottingham have discovered a new class of polymers that are resistant to bacterial attachment. Since the material disallows formation of bacteria communities (known as biofilms), it is suitable for use in medical applications and… »