A group of scientists from the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University have developed a breakthrough 4D printing method, using time as fourth dimension. The group were inspired by plants and other natural structures, which react to environmental stimuli and change their form accordingly. The scientists have developed 4D printed hydrogel composite structures that change their form when immersed in water.
Esophageal cancer is the eighth most common form of cancer worldwide and treatment of this disease continues to be a major medical challenge. Despite improvements in surgical techniques, 50 to 60 percent of patients with esophageal cancer are not suitable for surgery, because of late tumor detection or metastases that cannot be removed with surgery.
A recent study discusses why the largest animal capable of scaling vertical and smooth walls is the gecko. According to scientists, humans can walk on walls like Spiderman, but only with the help of adhesive pads covering 40% of the body’s surface. Scientists believe that their discovery provide a feasibility for large-scale, gecko-like adhesives.
Fiber optics specialists at EPFL have discovered some distinctive qualities of spider silk in relation to reactions with specific substances and conducting light.
Rice University scientists have invented an adaptive material, self-adaptive composite (SAC), that combines reversible self-stiffening and self-healing properties. SAC comprises a solid matrix composed of sticky micron-scale rubber balls.
Seashells, lobster claws, and chalk are all composed of calcium carbonate crystals but the first two are tough to break, while the third is soft enough to draw on pathways. This is because the hard materials contain bits of soft biological matter, which provides them with strength.
Scientists at Queen's University Belfast have made a major breakthrough by creating a porous liquid with the potential for a massive range of new technologies including 'carbon capture'.
A new model of developing robust and lightweight materials, which involves the inclusion of air pockets to give a stiff foam strucutre, has been discovered. The lead researchers drew inspiration from the tough exoskeleton of sea urchins; which have the same constituents as chalk and contain 70% air, yet are extremely strong.
A team have studied the phenomenon that a material in a single piece is not always best equipped to to resist external strain and may use their findings to help create biomaterial-inspired artificial materials.
An international team of researchers have discovered an innovative tuning process that could enable a new semiconductor material to be used for solar cell applications.
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