Even more sensitive than a human fingertip

18-May-2022

The “smart skin” developed by Anna Maria Coclite is very similar to human skin. It senses pressure, humidity and temperature simultaneously and produces electronic signals. More sensitive robots or more intelligent prostheses are thus conceivable. The skin is the largest sensory organ and at the ...

more

The approach has implications for improving water scarcity around the world, researchers say

28-Mar-2022

The United Nations’ most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reportpaints a bleak picture for the world’s water supply: Of the 7.8 billion people on Earth, about 4 billion do not have access to sufficiently clean water for at least a month every year. While several water ...

more

07-Mar-2022

The development of highly secure but simple and inexpensive encryption technology for the prevention of data leaks and forgeries is decidedly challenging. In the journal Angewandte Chemie, a research team has introduced a “double lock” based on thermoresponsive polymer hydrogels that encrypts ...

more

Hydrogels containing a hygroscopic salt can harvest freshwater from dry air

02-Mar-2022

Hydrogels have an astonishing ability to swell and take on water. In daily life, they are used in dressings, nappies, and more to lock moisture away. A team of researchers has now found another use: quickly extracting large amounts of freshwater from air using a specially developed hydrogel ...

more

materials can detect when they are damaged, take the necessary steps to temporarily heal themselves and then resume work

22-Feb-2022

Researchers have developed self-healing, biodegradable, 3D-printed materials that could be used in the development of realistic artificial hands and other soft robotics applications. The low-cost jelly-like materials, developed by researchers at the University of Cambridge, can sense strain, ...

more

Inspired by nature: Electro-biocatalytic CO₂ fixing replaces fossil resources

14-Jan-2022

Making important raw materials for fine chemicals out of carbon dioxide really works. As part of the Max Planck collaborative project eBioCO2n, a team of researchers from Fraunhofer IGB have successfully performed a first ever fixation of CO2 via a multi-enzyme enzyme reaction driven by ...

more

To make electricity, just squish it, twist it, or stretch it

02-Sep-2021

Researchers at North Carolina State University have created a soft, stretchable device that converts movement into electricity and works in both dry and wet environments. “Mechanical energy – such as the kinetic energy of wind, waves, body movement and vibrations from motors – is abundant,” says ...

more

Tough, strong and heat-endure

11-Nov-2020

Modern life relies closely on plastics, even though the petroleum-based production creates serious environmental challenges. The industry opts out to use sustainable materials due to their limited mechanical properties or complex manufacturing processes. An advanced strategy to design and produce ...

more

17-Jan-2020

Cement and concrete haven't changed much as technology in over a hundred years, but researchers in Colorado are revolutionizing building materials by literally bringing them to life. The method developed, presented January 15 in the journal Matter, combines sand and bacteria to build a living ...

more

06-Dec-2019

A new material that stiffens 1,800-fold when exposed to heat could protect motorcyclists and racecar drivers during accidents. Hokkaido University researchers have developed a hydrogel that does the opposite of what polymer-based materials, like plastic bottles, normally do: their material ...

more