http://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Consumers believe a product is more effective when images of the product and its desired outcome are placed closer together in advertisements, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research. http://phys.org/news287754668.html Other Sciences Tue, 14 May 2013 13:20:01 EST news287754668 French fashion label Smuggler on Thursday said it had produced a suit that can block electromagnetic waves produced by mobile phones. http://phys.org/news283077034.html Technology Thu, 21 Mar 2013 09:40:01 EST news283077034 (Phys.org) —A team of researchers working at the Polytechnic University of Turin in Italy has found that applying herring sperm DNA to cotton fabric caused it to be resistant to burning or catching on fire. In their paper published in the Journal of Materials Chemistry A, the team describes how they applied the sperm as a coating to a piece of cotton test fabric and tried to set it on fire, to no avail. http://phys.org/news282378669.html Chemistry Wed, 13 Mar 2013 07:33:06 EST news282378669 Scientists are reporting an advance in re-engineering photosynthesis to transform plants into bio-factories that manufacture high-value ingredients for medicines, fabrics, fuels and other products. They report on the research in the journal ACS Synthetic Biology. http://phys.org/news281783474.html Chemistry Wed, 06 Mar 2013 09:11:26 EST news281783474 Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) researchers together with researchers at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), have developed a special treatment for cotton fabric that allows the cotton to absorb exceptional amounts of water from misty air: 340% of its own weight. What makes this 'coated cotton' so interesting is that the cotton releases the collected water by itself, as it gets warmer. This property makes of the coated cotton materials a potential solution to provide water to the desert regions, for example for agricultural purposes. The results of this research will be published next month in the scientific journal Advanced Materials. http://phys.org/news277972766.html Chemistry Mon, 21 Jan 2013 06:39:43 EST news277972766 Clothes that could literally light up your life were unveiled Tuesday by Japanese researchers who said their solar-cell fabric would eventually let wearers harvest energy on the go. http://phys.org/news274421247.html Technology Tue, 11 Dec 2012 04:07:46 EST news274421247 (Phys.org)—A set of revolutionary new techniques that make it possible to recover invisible prints left on fabric by the sole of a person's shoe, have been developed by scientists at the University of Abertay Dundee. http://phys.org/news273397678.html Chemistry Thu, 29 Nov 2012 08:20:01 EST news273397678 Dr. Jaime Grunlan's research into fire-resistant materials is featured in the September 2012 issue of Smithsonian magazine. http://phys.org/news266480755.html Chemistry Mon, 10 Sep 2012 07:26:24 EST news266480755 Researchers have developed a new kind of anti-theft system, based on a woven fabric that triggers an alarm when penetrated by intruders. The smart fabric enables the exact location of the break-in to be identified, and is significantly cheaper than other burglary detection systems. It is also suitable as an invisible means of protecting entire buildings. http://phys.org/news266144975.html Technology Thu, 06 Sep 2012 10:11:16 EST news266144975 Exotic Solar LLC, a Salt Lake City based renewable energy start-up company, announced that they have developed a technique to manufacture cheap, flexible and foldable solar panel fabric that can be integrated with our day to day attire to make them a power source. Their patent pending technique converts brittle and fragile solar cells into flexible solar panels. http://phys.org/news260950474.html Technology Sun, 08 Jul 2012 07:16:44 EST news260950474 (Phys.org) -- Sewing machines that sew by themselves are on the research boards at Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). When concept becomes real, automated sewing without the need for human labor might raise concerns about lost jobs. The advent of automated sewing machines will also affect talk about garment-production conditions and wage levels for some 500,000 workers employed by contractors to make military uniforms. Overall, automated sewing machines might even reinvent clothing production in the U.S, which imports about $100 billion worth of clothes and sewn items each year from countries including China and Vietnam. http://phys.org/news258527099.html Technology Sun, 10 Jun 2012 06:05:19 EST news258527099 Scientists are reporting development and successful testing of a fabric coating that would give new meaning to the phrase "stain-resistant" -- a coating that would take an active role in sloughing off grease, dirt, strong acids and other gunk. The report, which shows that the coating is even more water-repellent than car wax or Teflon, appears in ACS' journal Langmuir. http://phys.org/news254574520.html Chemistry Wed, 25 Apr 2012 12:08:45 EST news254574520 (PhysOrg.com) -- Modern military uniforms for servicemen from some countries such as those that serve Great Britain have evolved to the point that batteries and cables are needed for electronic devices that are carried; the problem with that of course is that cables are unwieldy and batteries are bulky, not to mention heavy. Both tend to get in the way of mobility, which is rather crucial for a soldier in battlefield conditions. To get rid of the cables, a company called Intelligent Textiles has come up with a type of yarn that can conduct electricity, which can be woven directly into the fabric of the uniform. And because they allow the uniform itself to become one large conductive unit, the need for multiple batteries can be eliminated as well. http://phys.org/news252661678.html Technology Tue, 03 Apr 2012 09:50:01 EST news252661678 A simple, inexpensive dip-and-dry treatment can convert ordinary silk into a fabric that kills disease-causing bacteria — even the armor-coated spores of microbes like anthrax — in minutes, scientists are reporting in the journal ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces. They describe a range of potential uses for this new killer silk, including make-shift curtains and other protective coatings that protect homes and other buildings in the event of a terrorist attack with anthrax. http://phys.org/news250960676.html Chemistry Wed, 14 Mar 2012 16:18:04 EST news250960676 (PhysOrg.com) -- Among the many applications of flexible thermoelectric materials is a wristwatch powered by the temperature difference between the human body and the surrounding environment. But if you wanted this watch made of low-cost carbon nanotube (CNT)/polymer materials, you would currently need a piece of fabric with an area of about 500 cm2, which is about 50 times greater than the area of a typical wristwatch. http://phys.org/news249583296.html Nanotechnology Tue, 28 Feb 2012 08:30:01 EST news249583296 Ironing increases the humidity of a piece of cloth by injecting water vapor in the form of steam. But how does the vapor affect the fabric? Until now, it was thought that its only effect was to soften the fibers. French researchers at the Laboratoire de Physique de la Matière Condensée et Nanostructures de Lyon have now shown that water vapor plays another key role by acting on the contacts between the fibers, whether or not the material they are made of absorbs humidity. This work has just been published online in the journal Soft Matter. http://phys.org/news249300296.html Physics Fri, 24 Feb 2012 10:05:10 EST news249300296 Never get stranded with a dead cell phone again. A promising new technology called Power Felt, a thermoelectric device that converts body heat into an electrical current, soon could create enough juice to make another call simply by touching it. http://phys.org/news249125590.html Nanotechnology Wed, 22 Feb 2012 09:33:16 EST news249125590 Shark skin has long been known to improve the fish's swimming performance by reducing drag, but now George Lauder and Johannes Oeffner from Harvard University show that in addition, the skin generates thrust, giving the fish an extra boost. The duo also discovered that Speedo's shark skin-inspired Fastskin FS II fabric surface does not improve swimming speed, although they point out that the figure hugging costumes probably enhance performance in other ways. http://phys.org/news247984675.html Biology Thu, 09 Feb 2012 04:38:10 EST news247984675 Imagine jeans, sweats or socks that clean and de-odorize themselves when hung on a clothesline in the sun or draped on a balcony railing. Scientists are reporting development of a new cotton fabric that does clean itself of stains and bacteria when exposed to ordinary sunlight. Their report appears in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces. http://phys.org/news243081336.html Chemistry Wed, 14 Dec 2011 11:10:01 EST news243081336 These days, cars are developed on computers, and to assist with this, designers want processes which generate realistic surfaces such as seat covers. Researchers have now developed high-resolution scanners which copy objects and fabric samples in a few minutes, converting them into virtual models. The light effects are startlingly realistic. http://phys.org/news239532597.html Technology Thu, 03 Nov 2011 10:20:03 EST news239532597 A laser in Iowa State University's Wind Energy Manufacturing Laboratory scanned layer after layer of the flexible fiberglass fabric used to make wind turbine blades. http://phys.org/news238867113.html Technology Wed, 26 Oct 2011 16:58:43 EST news238867113 A novel type of fabric that can absorb water and perspiration on one side and transport it to the other has been invented by a team of textile scientists based at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU). http://phys.org/news238054098.html Chemistry Mon, 17 Oct 2011 07:08:31 EST news238054098 (PhysOrg.com) -- UC Davis scientists have developed a self-cleaning cotton fabric that can kill bacteria and break down toxic chemicals such as pesticide residues when exposed to light. http://phys.org/news236417084.html Chemistry Wed, 28 Sep 2011 08:25:12 EST news236417084 The technology in "fire paint" used to protect steel beams in buildings and other structures has found a new life as a first-of-its-kind flame retardant for children's cotton sleepwear, terrycloth bathrobes and other apparel, according to a report presented here today at the 242nd National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS). http://phys.org/news234014925.html Chemistry Wed, 31 Aug 2011 13:08:58 EST news234014925 (PhysOrg.com) -- Recently, Philips has announced that it will partner with Kvadrat Soft Cells in order to create a luminous type of textile to the consumer market. The panels will work by integrating Philips' addressable LEDs into the Soft Cells acoustic panels, designed to work with sound waves, in order to create a fabric that can glow and play with the idea of ambient light in designs as well as adding a textural element to the lighting in a room. http://phys.org/news229696264.html Technology Tue, 12 Jul 2011 13:31:20 EST news229696264 (PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at Northeast Normal University in China, have come up with a three-step process that when applied to cotton material results in a fabric that is both waterproof and very highly UV resistant. http://phys.org/news221729634.html Nanotechnology Mon, 11 Apr 2011 08:34:45 EST news221729634 Forensic experts at the University of Abertay Dundee and the Scottish Police Services Authority (SPSA) are leading the way in the research of new ground-breaking forensic techniques within the field of fingerprints. http://phys.org/news215694499.html Technology Mon, 31 Jan 2011 11:08:44 EST news215694499 For years, gardeners have claimed that putting Bounce fabric softener sheets in their pockets is an effective way to repel pests like mosquitoes and gnats. Any Internet search will uncover countless articles about the bug-repelling properties of Bounce. Are these claims valid or simply folklore? The authors of a new study say that until now, no quantitative data has existed to substantiate these claims, but their latest research has revealed a definitive answer: Bounce sheets do indeed repel adult gnats. http://phys.org/news211630560.html Biology Wed, 15 Dec 2010 10:16:26 EST news211630560 (PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists in Shanghai in China, have developed a waterproof cotton fabric that remains waterproof after going through a domestic wash at least 250 times. http://phys.org/news207462287.html Chemistry Thu, 28 Oct 2010 06:40:01 EST news207462287 Seamless fabric that can be sprayed on to skin and other surfaces to make clothes, medical bandages and even upholstery will be demonstrated this Thursday, in advance of the Science in Style spray-on fashion show next week at Imperial College London. http://phys.org/news203680035.html Chemistry Tue, 14 Sep 2010 10:47:27 EST news203680035