Inspired by the ability of pine cones to close their scales when wet and open them again once they have dried out, a group of researchers at ETH Zurich devised a new method to produce a variety of composite materials that are able to change their shape to a pre-programmed shape after being influence by… »
Inspired by structural elements found in most sea sponges, researchers at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) and the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research (MPI-P) in Germany have recreated the sponge spicules using the natural mineral calcium carbonate and a protein of the sponge. The resulting material is a synthetic hybrid which has almost 90… »
An 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… »
A team of researchers from the University of Delaware (UD) have reported their findings about a new chemical reaction that uses palladium as a catalyst in a process where carbon-hydrogen bonds are converted to carbon-silicon bonds. The process could lead to development of new materials, and it has a huge potential in development and manufacture… »
Inspired by massive Arapaima fish which lives in is Brazil’s Amazon waters, a group of researchers from UC San Diego are developing new materials suitable for armor and panels. Biomimicry of Arapaima’s complex scales could lead to new ceramics that are both tough and flexible, making them ideal for use in soldier’s body armor, fuel… »
Researchers at the Stanford University have made an interesting discovery after they sandwiched two nonmagnetic insulators together. Contrary to expectations, the layer where the two materials meet has both magnetic and superconducting regions – two properties which haven’t been found to co-exist in nature. The discovery could be a starting point for creation of new materials… »
The idea of reversibly storing solar energy in chemical bonds is gaining a lot of attention these days. A group of researchers from MIT have developed a novel application of carbon nanotubes which shows potential as an effective approach to store solar energy for use whenever it’s needed. The method simplifies the process by combining… »
For decades, materials scientists have been trying to come up with a substance which could be molded into complex shapes with the same ease and low expense as plastic but without sacrificing the strength and durability of metal. A team of researchers from Yale University came up with such material that would cost about the… »
