Materials Science

Materials Science

Artificial intelligence helped scientists create a new type of battery 

It took just 80 hours, rather than decades, to identify a potential new solid electrolyte using a combination of supercomputing and AI.

Materials Science

A fiber inspired by polar bears traps heat as well as down feathers do

Scientists took a cue from polar bear fur to turn an ultralight insulating material into knittable thread.

Plants

Salty sweat helps one desert plant stay hydrated

The Athel tamarisk excretes excess salt through its leaves. The buildup of salt crystals pulls water directly from the air, a study reports.

Chemistry

Chemists turned plastic waste into tiny bars of soap

Researchers developed a process to turn plastic waste into surfactants, the key ingredients in dozens of products, including soap.

Chemistry

Magnetic ‘rusty’ nanoparticles pull estrogen out of water

Iron oxide particles adorned with “sticky” molecules trap estrogen in water, possibly limiting the hormone’s harmful effects on aquatic life.

Materials Science

This ‘thermal cloak’ keeps spaces from getting either too hot or cold

A new thermal fabric prototype could help keep cars, buildings and other spaces a comfortable temperature during heat waves while reducing CO₂ emissions.

Chemistry

Tear-resistant rubbery materials could pave the way for tougher tires

Adding easy-to-break molecular connectors surprisingly makes materials harder to tear and could one day reduce microplastic pollution from car tires.

Environment

This house was built partly from recycled diapers

Disposable diapers can replace nearly a third of the materials used in load-bearing structures, offering a potential path to more affordable housing.

Materials Science

A vegan leather made of dormant fungi can repair itself

Researchers developed a leather alternative made from dormant fungus that can be reanimated and then regrow when damaged.

Health & Medicine

A graphene “tattoo” could help hearts keep their beat

A proof-of-concept electronic heart tattoo relies on graphene to act as an ultrathin, flexible pacemaker. In rats, it treated an irregular heartbeat.

Chemistry

Here’s why some Renaissance artists egged their oil paintings

Some Renaissance artists created eggs-quisite paintings by adding yolks to oil paints, which may have helped add texture and prevent yellowing.

Animals

These transparent fish turn rainbow with white light. Now, we know why

Repeated structures in the ghost catfish’s muscles separate white light that passes through their bodies into different wavelengths.