Nanotubes find niche in electric switches

New research from Rice University and the University of Oulu in Oulu, Finland, finds that carbon nanotubes could significantly improve the performance of electrical commutators that are common in electric motors and generators.

Dairy calves use brushes for more than combing their hair

Dairy cows have a natural drive to groom themselves and to scratch those hard-to-reach itches on their bodies. When given the opportunity, dairy cattle use mechanical brushes daily at every stage of their lives. A new study ...

Actively swimming gold nanoparticles

Bacteria can actively move towards a nutrient source—a phenomenon known as chemotaxis—and they can move collectively in a process known as swarming. Chinese scientists have redesigned collective chemotaxis by creating ...

Perking up and crimping the 'bristles' of polyelectrolyte brushes

If the bristles of a brush abruptly collapsed into wads of noodles, the brush would, of course, become useless. When it's a micron-scale brush called a "polyelectrolyte brush," that collapse can put a promising experimental ...

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