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. (Phys.org) —Engineers combine layers of flexible materials into pressure sensors to create a wearable heart monitor thinner than a dollar bill. The skin-like device could one day provide doctors with a safer way to check the condition of a patient's heart. http://phys.org/news287827126.html Chemistry Wed, 15 May 2013 08:58:55 EST news287827126 A large proportion of the energy we produce disappears unused into thin air via waste heat. Tiny thermoelectric generators can tap this potential, whereby the electricity is produced by way of temperature differences. However, so far their production has been laborious and expensive. At the same time there is a lack of suitable materials. At the Hannover trade fair researchers are now presenting a new manufacturing process with which these generators can be cost-effectively produced in the form of large-area flexible components from non-toxic synthetic materials. http://phys.org/news283595278.html Technology Wed, 27 Mar 2013 09:28:05 EST news283595278 In a sweeping review of the field of bio-inspired engineering and biomimicry in the Feb. 15 issue of the journal Science, two engineers at the University of California, San Diego, identify three characteristics of biological materials that they believe engineers would do well to emulate in man-made materials: light weight, toughness and strength. http://phys.org/news280074389.html Chemistry Thu, 14 Feb 2013 14:26:43 EST news280074389 Case Western Reserve University researchers have won a $1.2 million grant to develop technology for mass-producing flexible electronic devices at a whole new level of small. http://phys.org/news269611605.html Nanotechnology Tue, 16 Oct 2012 13:06:55 EST news269611605 Buildings may soon be able to generate their own electricity from roofs, walls, windows – even benchtops – that come with in-built solar power capabilities. http://phys.org/news268289757.html Technology Mon, 01 Oct 2012 05:56:10 EST news268289757 The National Science Foundation (NSF) has announced 15 Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation (EFRI) grants for fiscal year 2012, awarding nearly $30 million to 68 investigators at 26 institutions. http://phys.org/news265018840.html Technology Fri, 24 Aug 2012 09:40:02 EST news265018840 University of Illinois materials scientists have developed a new reactive silver ink for printing high-performance electronics on ubiquitous, low-cost materials such as flexible plastic, paper or fabric substrates. http://phys.org/news245669480.html Nanotechnology Fri, 13 Jan 2012 09:40:01 EST news245669480 To demonstrate how a new fabrication technique can print solar cells on extremely thin, flexible materials, researchers from MIT have patterned solar cells onto ordinary toilet paper. While toilet paper may be an unlikely substrate for practical solar cell applications, it illustrates the versatility of the technique for low-cost printing on a wide variety of materials. http://phys.org/news213374290.html Nanotechnology Tue, 04 Jan 2011 14:38:33 EST news213374290 (PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of California at Berkeley have demonstrated a way to fabricate efficient solar cells from low-cost and flexible materials. The new design grows optically active semiconductors in arrays of nanoscale pillars, each a single crystal, with dimensions measured in billionths of a meter. http://phys.org/news166375114.html Nanotechnology Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:50:04 EST news166375114