Inspired by extraordinary camouflaging abilities of organisms such as squid and zebrafish, a group of researchers from the University of Bristol have created artificial muscles that can change their state and appearance at the push of a button, and demonstrated two different transforming mechanisms that could lead to new clothes with camouflaging tricks analogous to… »

University of California, San Diego bioengineers have developed a smart and easy-to-synthesize self-healing hydrogels that consist of linked chains of polymer molecules which are capable to self-heal in aqueous environment. This jello-like material’s ability to self-heal, bind in seconds and form a bond strong enough to withstand repeated stretching could find uses in biology, medicine,… »

A team of researchers from the University of Akron (UA) has observed two species of spiders in order to develop stimuli-resistant and stimuli-sensitive materials. The research shows that the sticky glue that coats the silk threads orb-weaving spiders spin has a different structure, property makeup and response to humidity than glues produced by their evolutionary… »

The material properties of metals and alloys are set once and for all during production, and it forces engineers to compromise during the selection of the mechanical properties of a material. A group of researchers came up with a material which is capable to change its strength nearly at the touch of a button. The… »