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Physics - Materials Science - 30.09.2019

Quantum material goes where none have gone before ?
Alloy behaves strangely while traversing potential 'spin liquid' state Rice University physicist Qimiao Si began mapping quantum criticality more than a decade ago, and he's finally found a traveler that can traverse the final frontier. The traveler is an alloy of cerium palladium and aluminum, and its journey is described in a study published online this week by Si, a theoretical physicist and director of the Rice Center for Quantum Materials (RCQM), and colleagues in China, Germany and Japan.

Environment - Materials Science - 30.09.2019

Make like a leaf: researchers developing method to convert CO2
University of Sydney researchers are drawing inspiration from leaves to reduce carbon emissions, using nanotechnology to develop a method for 'carbon photosynthesis' that they hope will one day be adopted on an industrial-scale. Professor Jun Huang from the University of Sydney Nano Institute and the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering is  developing  a carbon capture method that aims to go one step beyond storage, instead converting and recycling carbon dioxide (CO2) into raw materials that can be used to create fuels and chemicals.

Life Sciences - Materials Science - 26.09.2019

Spider silk: A malleable protein provides reinforcement
09/26/2019 Scientists from the University of Würzburg have discovered that spider silk contains an exceptional protein. It generates high bonding strength by making use of an amino acid scientists have hitherto paid little attention to. Why are the lightweight silk threads of web spiders tougher than most other materials' Scientists from the Universities of Würzburg and Mainz teamed up to find answers to this question.

Health - Materials Science - 26.09.2019

On the road to safe nanomedicine
Tiny particles that can fight cancer or that can easily pass through any interface within our body are a great promise for medicine. But there is little knowledge thus far about what exactly will happen to nanoparticles within our tissues and whether or not they can cause disease by themselves. Within an international research consortium, Empa scientists have now developed guidelines that should enable the safe development of nanoparticles for medical use.

Materials Science - Chemistry - 24.09.2019

A battery with a twist
Markus Niederberger's team of researchers at ETH has used stretchable materials to develop a battery that can be bent, stretched and twisted. For applications in bendable electronic devices, this is precisely the kind of battery they need. Today's electronics industry is increasingly focusing on computers or smartphones with screens that can be folded or rolled.

Materials Science - 17.09.2019

Wood that shapes itself
Researchers from ETH Zurich, Empa and the University of Stuttgart have developed a new technique involving a controlled drying process that makes wooden panels bend into a pre-set shape without the use of any mechanical force. Wood is a renewable resource and a popular, sustainable construction material.

Materials Science - 16.09.2019

Wood that Shapes Itself
Researchers from the University of Stuttgart, ETH Zurich and the Swiss Empa have presented a method with which wood panels themselves bend into a previously calculated shape in a controlled drying process without mechanical force. The procedure, which contributed to the production of the Urbach Tower at the Remstal Garden Show near Stuttgart, was reported on by the renowned scientific journal Science Advances in its issue of 13 September 2019.

Materials Science - 13.09.2019

The Enigma of Bronze Age Tin
Researchers use methods of the natural sciences to uncover geographic origin of archaeological tin artefacts from the Mediterranean The origin of the tin used in the Bronze Age has long been one of the greatest enigmas in archaeological research. Now researchers from Heidelberg University and the Curt Engelhorn Centre for Archaeometry in Mannheim have solved part of the puzzle.

Materials Science - Astronomy / Space Science - 12.09.2019

Engineers develop "blackest black" material to date
Made from carbon nanotubes, the new coating is 10 times darker than other very black materials. Fast Company reporter Mark Wilson writes that a collaboration between CAST artist-in-residence Diemut Strebe and Prof. Brian Wardle led to the creation of the blackest material ever made. "It's pretty interesting that the artist in my group influenced the science," says Wardle.

Physics - Materials Science - 10.09.2019

’Human races’ do not exist
Physicists create plasma for the first time using nanowires and long-wavelength ultrashort pulse laser Light Physicists at the University of Jena have developed a new method for producing plasma, enabling them to deal with some of the problems that stand in the way of this extremely difficult process.

Microtechnics - Materials Science - 09.09.2019

Soft-bodied swimming robot uses only light for power and steering
In a paper in Science Robotics, materials scientists from the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering describe a new design for a swimming robot that's both powered and steered by constant light. The device, called OsciBot because it moves by oscillating its tail, could eventually lead to designs for oceangoing robots and autonomous ships.

Chemistry - Materials Science - 04.09.2019

New insulation technique paves the way for more powerful and smaller chips
Researchers at KU Leuven and imec have successfully developed a new technique to insulate microchips. The technique uses metal-organic frameworks, a new type of materials consisting of structured nanopores. In the long term, this method can be used for the development of even smaller and more powerful chips that consume less energy.

Physics - Materials Science - 04.09.2019

Studying heart cells with nanovolcanoes
Researchers at EPFL and the University of Bern have developed a groundbreaking method for studying the electrical signals of cardiac muscle cells. The technology has numerous potential applications in basic and applied research - such as improving the search for mechanisms underlying cardiac arrhythmias.

Materials Science - Physics - 28.08.2019

Next generation synthetic covalent 2-D materials unveiled
UAntwerp researchers from the CMT group, Dr. Mehmet Yagmurcukardes and Prof. Francois Peeters, in collaboration with a team from Manchester have uncovered novel 2D materials. (Nanowerk News) A team of researchers at the National Graphene Institute at The University of Manchester have developed a new method to synthesize 2D materials that are thought to be impossible or, at least, unobtainable by current technologies.

Health - Materials Science - 27.08.2019

New antimicrobial coating could be key in fight against hospital-acquired infections
Scientists at the University of Birmingham have created an antimicrobial coating for steel surfaces which has proven to rapidly kill bacteria that cause some of the most common hospital-acquired infections. Developed by researchers at the University of Birmingham, patented by University of Birmingham Enterprise , and to be commercialised by a new company NitroPep, the coating - also called NitroPep - has been heralded as a new tool in the fight against the spread of infection.

Materials Science - Chemistry - 26.08.2019

Researchers flip how electrical signals move liquid droplets
When medical laboratories analyze blood samples for signs of disease, they sometimes use instruments that rely on a technology called digital microfluidics. The technique uses electric signals to pull tiny droplets of the sample across a surface so they can be analyzed. One drawback of the process is that the electric signals tend to damage the surface that the droplets travel over, which can cause the device to fail unexpectedly or deteriorate over time.

Physics - Materials Science - 21.08.2019

A hallmark of superconductivity, beyond superconductivity itself
'Electron pairing' found well above superconductor's critical temperature Physicists have found "electron pairing,” a hallmark feature of superconductivity, at temperatures and energies well above the critical threshold where superconductivity happens. Rice University's Doug Natelson , co-corresponding author of a paper about the work in this week's Nature, said the discovery of Cooper pairs of electrons "a bit above the critical temperature won't be 'crazy surprising' to some people.

Materials Science - Chemistry - 20.08.2019

Technique could make better membranes for next-generation filtration
Deriving drinkable water from seawater, treating wastewater and conducting kidney dialysis are just a few important processes that use a technology called membrane filtration. The key to the process is the membrane filter — a thin, semi-porous film that allows certain substances such as water to pass through while separating out other, unwanted substances.

Physics - Materials Science - 19.08.2019

Hydrogen induces high-temperature superconductivity in a monolayer material
UAntwerp researchers from the CMT group, Dr Jonas Bekaert and Prof Milorad Milosevic, in collaboration with Swedish researchers have predicted that a atomically thin layer of hydrogen will boost the critical temperature of a thin superconductor to above a hundred kelvin. Hydrogen-rich bulk superconducting materials have recently exhibited record-breaking critical temperatures, nearing the ambient temperature and thereby promising a major technological impact on the society.

Health - Materials Science - 15.08.2019

Plasma coating developed to decrease bone implant rejections
One million Australians have undergone joint replacement surgery and the numbers are growing. University of Sydney researchers have developed a bone implant coating that could lead to improved implant outcomes. An international research project, led by the University of Sydney's School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering and the School of Physics in collaboration with UMC Utrecht and the Heart Research Institute and three other research partners, has developed a new plasma coating for bone implants with the aim of decreasing complications.