Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa) researchers have been inspired by climbing plants to develop a polymer foam surface coating with a closed cell construction capable to reduce the pressure loss after the membrane is damaged. Aside making future inflatable structures more resistant, the technology could provide them with a longer operational… »
Inspired by pitcher plant, a group of applied scientists at Harvard University managed to create a material that repels just about any type of liquid, including blood and oil, and does so even while it is exposed to high pressure or freezing temperatures. Since it is carnivorous by nature, the ability to have a virtually… »
Although many gardeners treat moss as a menace and tend to eradicate it from their lawns, a team of designers and scientists at the University of Cambridge are developing a way to harness energy from moss by using it as biophotovoltaics (BPVs). BPV devices may become competitive alternatives to conventional renewable technologies such as bio-fuels… »
Researchers at Fraunhofer are combining two different techniques – 3D printing technology established in rapid prototyping and multiphoton polymerization developed in polymer science – in order to create artificial blood vessels. Aside creating artificial blood vessels that could be used to could supply artificial tissue, the technology could be a starting point for creation of… »
A group of researchers from the University of Nottingham and the University of Maastricht have succeeded to employ a bacterium that is widespread in soil in order to fight cancer. They managed to modify a bacterial strain to specifically targets tumors without harming healthy tissue, and it could be used as a vehicle to deliver… »
Collaboration between researchers at the Clemson University and the Georgia Institute of Technology resulted with a promising new binder material for lithium-ion battery electrodes. Known as alginate, the material is extracted from common, fast-growing brown algae, and it could boost energy storage, while eliminating the use of toxic compounds now used to manufacture the components…. »
The adhesive surface of gecko’s toes has inspired many research groups to try to mimic this ability in an artificial material. Researchers at the A*STAR Institute of Materials Research and Engineering and co-workers at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore claim that they came up with the closest biomimicry yet, and that their synthetic gecko toe… »
Certain biological materials exhibit exceptional strength due to their complex structure which has been perfected through time. Inspired by the perfected structures found in nature, researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute are collaborating on a project named Bionic Manufacturing. It aims to develop plastic products that are lightweight and strong, while being economic in their use… »
