Cheaper smart packaging which indicates if the food is going off being developed

By Damir Beciri
21 January 2011

university-of-strathclyde-smart-food-packagingA while ago we wrote an article about the research from Fraunhofer Institute related to active packaging that could prolong the shelf life of food products. Since a research estimates that 8.3 million tons of household food (most of which could have been eaten) is wasted only in the UK each year, a team of… »

Asahi Glass Company introduces Dragontrail scratch-proof glass

By Rob Aid
2 Comments20 January 2011

asahi-glass-company-dragontrail-1Even before the wider usage of touch-screen devices, there was a need for scratch-proof glass materials which protect the screens of our favorite gadgets. The folks from Asahi Glass Company (AGC), Japan’s largest glass maker, announced they will launch worldwide sales of Dragontrail – a glass material that is highly receptive to chemical strengthening, to… »

Black ghost knifefish biomimicry inspired GhostBot robot

By Damir Beciri
20 January 2011

black-ghost-knifefishResearchers at Northwestern University have created a robotic fish that can move from swimming forward and backward to swimming vertically almost instantaneously by using a ribbon-like fin inspired by the black ghost knifefish – a night fish that lives in rivers of the Amazon basin. It hunts for prey using a weak electric field around… »

Green architecture – Dali Museum, St. Petersburg, Florida

By Damir Beciri
18 January 2011

dali-museum-florida-1Located on a scenic waterfront site in downtown St. Petersburg, Fla., the 6,317 square-meter (68,000-square-foot) structure doubles the size of the original 1982 Dali Museum, a one-story warehouse. Exhibits include oils, watercolors, sketches, sculptures and other works from a 2,140-piece permanent collection. It stands more than 22.8 meters (75 feet) tall and is decorated by… »

Fruit fly nervous system biomimicry for faster computer networks

By Rob Aid
One Comment15 January 2011

ziv-bar-josephThe fruit fly has evolved a method for arranging the tiny, hair-like structures it uses to feel and hear the world. A team of researchers in Israel and at Carnegie Mellon University were inspired by that method and they think it could be used for more effectively deployed wireless sensor networks, such as environmental monitoring,… »

Evolutive morphological change of robots enhances their capabilities

By Damir Beciri
14 January 2011

bongard-moprhing-robotsIn his experiment, University of Vermont roboticist Josh Bongard created both simulated and actual robots that, just like tadpoles become frogs, change their body forms while learning how to walk. Over iterations in versions (generations), his simulated robots managed to evolve – spending less time in “infant” tadpole-like forms and more time in “adult” four-legged… »

Damage-tolerant glass tougher and stronger than steel

By Rob Aid
One Comment13 January 2011

damage-tolerant-glassAfter writing about bird-protection glass and blast-resistant glass, here’s an article about glass which is stronger and tougher than steel. A new type of damage-tolerant metallic glass has been developed and tested by a collaboration of researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the California Institute of… »

Biomedical breakthrough – blood vessels for lab-grown tissues

By Rob Aid
One Comment12 January 2011

jennifer-westResearchers from Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) have broken one of the major roadblocks on the path to growing transplantable tissue in the lab, because they found a way to grow the blood vessels and capillaries needed to keep tissues alive. In a combination with their previous research, the team could grow… »