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)—Scientists at Arizona State University are celebrating their recent success on the path to understanding what makes the fiber that spiders spin – weight for weight - at least five times as strong as piano wire. They have found a way to obtain a wide variety of elastic properties of the silk of several intact spiders' webs using a sophisticated but non–invasive laser light scattering technique. http://phys.org/news278526837.html Chemistry Sun, 27 Jan 2013 16:34:13 EST news278526837 Nylon, Kevlar and other synthetic fabrics: Step aside. If new scientific research pans out, people may be sporting shirts, blouses and other garments made from fibers modeled after those in the icky, super-strong slime from a creature called the hagfish. The study appears in ACS' journal Biomacromolecules. http://phys.org/news273323830.html Chemistry Wed, 28 Nov 2012 11:17:17 EST news273323830 A team of chemical engineers led by Paul J. Dauenhauer of the University of Massachusetts Amherst has discovered a new, high-yield method of producing the key ingredient used to make plastic bottles from biomass. The process is inexpensive and currently creates the chemical p-xylene with an efficient yield of 75-percent, using most of the biomass feedstock, Dauenhauer says. The research is published in the journal ACS Catalysis. http://phys.org/news255018605.html Chemistry Mon, 30 Apr 2012 15:31:01 EST news255018605 Cotton is going high-tech in New Orleans, La., where a team of U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists is continuing a long tradition of innovative research on the prized natural fiber. http://phys.org/news253963767.html Nanotechnology Wed, 18 Apr 2012 10:29:40 EST news253963767 It has five times the tensile strength of steel and is stronger then even the best currently available synthetic fibers: Spider thread. German scientists of the Technische Universitaet Muenchen and the Universitaet Bayreuth have now succeeded in unveiling a further secret of silk proteins and the mechanism that imparts spider silk with its strength. They have published the results of their work in the professional journal Angewandte Chemie. http://phys.org/news232799824.html Chemistry Wed, 17 Aug 2011 11:37:25 EST news232799824 (PhysOrg.com) -- Chemical engineers are responsible for numerous scientific advances, ranging from affordable pharmaceuticals and super-strong synthetic fibers to environmental cleanup and recycling technologies. Most people don’t associate engineers with advances in behavioral health, but new research shows engineers might have much to offer those fighting addictions and other behavioral disorders. http://phys.org/news225022797.html Technology Thu, 19 May 2011 11:50:04 EST news225022797 (PhysOrg.com) -- Two Cornell researchers have launched iFyber LLC, which markets fabrics with embedded nanoparticles to detect explosives and dangerous chemicals or to serve as antibacterials for hospitals. http://phys.org/news172850156.html Nanotechnology Tue, 22 Sep 2009 15:40:05 EST news172850156 In the clothing industry it's common to mix natural and synthetic fibers. Take cotton and add polyester to make clothing that's soft, breathable and wrinkle free. Now researchers at the University of Washington are using the same principle for biomedical applications. Mixing chitosan, found in the shells of crabs and shrimp, with an industrial polyester creates a promising new material for the tiny tubes that support repair of a severed nerve, and could serve other medical uses. http://phys.org/news164384019.html Chemistry Tue, 16 Jun 2009 15:14:43 EST news164384019 Chemists at New York University and China's Nanjing University have developed a two-armed nanorobotic device that can manipulate molecules within a device built from DNA. The device is described in the latest issue of the journal Nature Nanotechnology. http://phys.org/news153927342.html Nanotechnology Sun, 15 Feb 2009 13:36:30 EST news153927342 In the future, you may snuggle up in warm, cozy sweats made of chicken feathers or jeans made of wheat, enjoying comfortable, durable new fabrics that are "green" and environmentally friendly. Researchers in Australia are reporting that new advances are paving the way for such exotic new materials — made from agricultural waste or byproducts — to hit store shelves as environmentally-friendly alternatives to the estimated 38 million tons of synthetic fabrics produced worldwide each year. http://phys.org/news150999956.html Chemistry Mon, 12 Jan 2009 16:25:56 EST news150999956