Iowa State's Martin Thuo and his research group have developed technology to make metallic replicas of soft, natural surfaces such as rose petals. The team's metallic surfaces retained properties of the originals, including a rose petal's sticky, yet water-repelling textures.
In ECS series, The ECS Community Adapts and Advances, Dr. Arumugam “Ram” Manthiram shares how he is in awe of his research team's ability to remain creative and productive amidst to COVID-19 pandemic. He also urges the science community to be proactive in confronting the pandemic and climate change challenges threatening the global community.
The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science has selected Brookhaven National Laboratory to lead one of five National Quantum Information Science Research Centers. Through hardware-software co-design, the center—called the Co-design Center for Quantum Advantage—will advance quantum computing.
The Transformational Challenge Reactor will use novel materials. Researchers are testing their performance in a reactor core by irradiating them in the High Flux Isotope Reactor.
DHS S&T transitioned technology to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) that is representative of S&T’s deep body of work in cataloging, detecting and thwarting explosive threats.
Months into the COVID-19 pandemic, wearing a mask while out in public has become the recommended practice. However, many still question the effectiveness of this. To allay doubts, Padmanabha Prasanna Simha, from the Indian Space Research Organisation, and Prasanna Simha Mohan Rao, from the Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research, experimentally visualized the flow fields of coughs under various common mouth covering scenarios. They present their findings in the journal Physics of Fluids.
Researchers in WMG and the Department of Physics at the University of Warwick have found that asymmetric stresses within electrodes used in certain wearable electronic devices provides an important clue as to how to improve the durability and lifespan of these batteries.
When algae and bacteria with different swimming gaits gather in large groups, their flocking behaviour diminishes, something that may reduce the risk of falling victim to aquatic predators. This finding is presented in an international study led from Lund University in Sweden.
Two Rutgers-led studies have identified a more rapid method to decontaminate N95 masks using vaporized hydrogen peroxide – making reuse of masks more economically feasible and practical for health care workers on the frontlines against COVID-19.
Researchers have designed and demonstrated a new bullseye lens for very bright, very fast electron sources. The lens combines atomically flat surfaces with concentric grooves that direct the interactions of the surface electrons to form an intense electron beam in the center of the bullseye. The lens can generate pulses lasting less than 10 femtoseconds.
Researchers report in Science Advances that the lipid-based nanoparticles they have engineered, carrying two sets of protein-making instructions, showed in animal studies that they have the potential to function as therapies for two genetic disorders.
Physicists at the University of Göttingen, together with pathologists and lung specialists at the Medical University of Hannover, have developed a three-dimensional imaging technique that enables high resolution and three-dimensional representation of damaged lung tissue following severe Covid-19.
Scientists at Berkeley Lab have demonstrated a new technique that could improve the performance of atomically thin semiconductors for next-generation electronics such as optoelectronics, thermoelectrics, and sensors.
Cornell researchers used an ultrathin graphene “sandwich” to create a tiny magnetic field sensor that can operate over a greater temperature range than previous sensors, while also detecting miniscule changes in magnetic fields that might otherwise get lost within a larger magnetic background.
Biological systems come in all shapes, sizes and structures. Some of these structures, such as those found in DNA, RNA and proteins, are formed through complex molecular interactions that are not easily duplicated by inorganic materials.
Aerogel is an excellent thermal insulator. So far, however, it has mainly been used on a large scale, for example in environmental technology, in physical experiments or in industrial catalysis. Empa researchers have now succeeded in making aerogels accessible to microelectronics and precision engineering: An article in the latest issue of the scientific journal "Nature" shows how 3D-printed parts made of silica aerogels and silica composite materials can be manufactured with high precision. This opens up numerous new application possibilities in the high-tech industry, for example in microelectronics, robotics, biotechnology and sensor technology.
The demand for sustainable infrastructure has builders searching for an alternative to concrete’s large carbon footprint. Now, scientists have created a new building material using local soil, and will present their results today at the American Chemical Society Fall 2020 Virtual Meeting & Expo.
Using a renewable, sustainable ingredient in asphalt pavement will benefit the transportation industry as well as the agricultural and forestry sectors.
Scientists at the Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory have designed a new, low-cost means to address membrane fouling through the application of a light-activated coating that can make the membrane self-cleaning.
Researchers at Berkeley Lab and UC Berkeley have demonstrated that a common material can be processed into a top-performing energy storage material. Their discovery could improve the efficiency, reliability, and robustness of personal electronics, wearable technologies, and car audio systems.
Erik Henriksen, assistant professor of physics in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, has been awarded a prestigious Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award by the National Science Foundation. His grant, expected to total $850,000 over the next five years, is for research that explores many-particle interactions in graphene and other single-atom-thick materials.
Argonne battery scientist Michael Thackeray highlights the ongoing research into manganese-based lithium-ion batteries, and how his work with Nobel Prize winner John B. Goodenough in the 80s has informed today’s studies.
Trace vapor detection technologies are crucial for ensuring reliable and safe detection of explosives and illegal drugs. Researchers have developed a compact testing device called the Trace Vapor Generator for Explosives and Narcotics, which is portable and can be used for non-contact sampling of these vapors. In Review of Scientific Instruments, the team reports the TV-Gen can accurately generate trace vapors of low vapor pressure compounds and can produce vapors in complex backgrounds.
Potholes can cause billions of dollars of damage every year to automobiles. Today, scientists report a new way to repair roads — by using a remnant of wastewater treatment called grit. They will present their results at the American Chemical Society Fall 2020 Virtual Meeting & Expo.
A team of researchers at Missouri S&T found that several layers of household air filters can achieve filtration performance similar to masks rated N95.
Irvine, Calif., Aug. 17, 2020 – University of California, Irvine materials scientists are learning about resilience from the mantis shrimp. The ancient crustaceans are armed with two hammerlike raptorial appendages called dactyl clubs that they use to bludgeon and smash their prey. These fists, able to accelerate from the body at over 50 mph, deliver powerful blows yet appear undamaged afterward.
What happens if an electric car burns in a road tunnel or an underground car park? In the Hagerbach test tunnel in Switzerland, Empa researchers and tunnel safety expert Lars Derek Mellert set fire to battery cells of electric cars, analyzed the distribution of soot and smoke gases and the chemical residues in the extinguishing water.
Scientists have developed a novel way of making a fabric used in U.S. Army uniforms flame-retardant and insect repellent, all with nontoxic substances. They will present their results today at the American Chemical Society Fall 2020 Virtual Meeting & Expo.
Connecting electronics directly to human tissues in the body is a challenge. Today, a team is reporting new coatings for components that could help them more easily fit into this milieu. The researchers will present their results at the American Chemical Society Fall 2020 Virtual Meeting & Expo.
"Blue whirls" -- small, spinning blue flames that produce almost no soot when they burn -- have attracted great interest since their discovery in 2016, in part because they represent a potential new avenue for low-emission combustion.
Research from the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis has determined that locusts can smell explosives and determine where the smells originated — an important step in engineering cyborg bomb-sniffing locusts.
The COVID-busting ‘Maya’ sticker developed by Technion researchers has gone into mass production. Comprised of a nanofiber sheet, the unique sticker can be easily adhered to a protective mask, significantly improving its effectiveness against the novel coronavirus.
A new Prospective article—Additive Manufacturing for COVID-19: Devices, Materials, Prospects and Challenges—published in MRS Communications, looks at these critical supply issues and provides an overview of 3D printing and how coupling the tools in additive manufacturing (AM) and advanced materials has provided a viable alternative for rapid production and distribution of PPEs and medical devices.
A new five-year agreement awards $5.4 million (with the potential for up to $11 million) to a team led by Case Western Reserve, and includes a subcontract to PolymerPlus LLC, a Cleveland-based polymeric development company founded at the university in 2010, to lead production scale-up.
Researchers have demonstrated a new technique for creating ultrasound images. The new approach is substantially simpler than existing techniques and could significantly drive down technology costs.
At the height of a thunderstorm, the tips of cell towers, telephone poles, and other tall, electrically conductive structures can spontaneously emit a flash of blue light.
Graphene, an extremely thin two-dimensional layer of the graphite used in pencils, buckles when cooled while attached to a flat surface, resulting in beautiful pucker patterns that could benefit the search for novel quantum materials and superconductors, according to Rutgers-led research in the journal Nature. Quantum materials host strongly interacting electrons with special properties, such as entangled trajectories, that could provide building blocks for super-fast quantum computers. They also can become superconductors that could slash energy consumption by making power transmission and electronic devices more efficient.
Imagine plugging in to your brick house. Red bricks — some of the world’s cheapest and most familiar building materials — can be converted into energy storage units that can be charged to hold electricity, like a battery, according to new research from Washington University in St. Louis.Brick has been used in walls and buildings for thousands of years, but rarely has been found fit for any other use.
Since the COVID-19 virus spreads through respiratory droplets, researchers in India set out to explore how droplets deposited on face masks or frequently touched surfaces dry. Droplets can be expelled via the mouth or nose and studies have shown a substantially reduced chance of infection once they dry. In Physics of Fluids, the researchers publish their findings that surface wetting properties to reduce the drying time of droplets could help lessen the risk of infection from coronaviruses.