Materials Science
- Physics
Here’s how to bend spaghetti to your will
Researchers have discovered how to snap spaghetti sticks without sending bits of pasta flying.
- Chemistry
See the ‘periodic table’ of molecular knots
A new table of knots points the way to twisting molecules in increasingly complex pretzels.
- Materials Science
A filter that turns saltwater into freshwater just got an upgrade
Smoothing out a material used in desalination filters could help combat worldwide water shortages.
- Physics
Strange metals are even weirder than scientists thought
Some strange metals are odd in more ways than one, and that could help scientists understand high-temperature superconductors.
- Tech
A new kind of spray is loaded with microscopic electronic sensors
For the first time, researchers have built circuits on microscopic chips that can be mixed into an aerosol spray.
- Materials Science
Designer diamonds could one day help build a quantum internet
A new design in artificial diamonds stores and releases quantum information better than others.
- Tech
A new 3-D printer builds temporary electronics on your skin
A new 3-D printer that tracks and compensates for your slightest twitch can precisely print simple electronic devices onto your skin.
- Tech
Future smart clothes could pack serious gadgetry
Casual daywear may someday contain some serious tech. But engineers have to take conventional electronics and make them comfortable to wear.
- Environment
This plastic can be recycled over and over and over again
A new kind of polymer is fully recyclable: It breaks down into the exact same molecules that it came from.
- Materials Science
A new plastic film glows to flag food contaminated with dangerous microbes
Plastic patches that glow when they touch some types of bacteria could be built into food packaging to reduce the spread of foodborne illness.
- Microbes
This material uses energy from ambient light to kill hospital superbugs
A quantum dot–powered material could help reduce the number of hospital-acquired infections, including those with drug-resistant bacteria.
- Materials Science
Toxic chemicals turn a new material from porous to protective
A new material switches from a comfortable, breathable form to a sealed-up, protective state when exposed to dangerous chemicals.
