Green method developed for making artificial spider silk

A team of architects and chemists from the University of Cambridge has designed super-stretchy and strong fibres which are almost entirely composed of water, and could be used to make textiles, sensors and other materials. ...

Cork the key to unlocking the potential of graphene

Scientists have taken inspiration from one of the oldest natural materials to exploit the extraordinary qualities of graphene, a material set to revolutionise fields from computers and batteries to composite materials.

In physics, a famous paradox that hangs by a thread of light

Imagine a metal bar that has been heated at one end. Instead of the heat gradually spreading over its entire length, the bar eventually becomes hot again at the place where it was originally. The fact that, paradoxically, ...

Battery design could reduce electric car weight

Battery weight has long vexed engineers designing electric cars for the mass market. Bigger batteries are needed to power a car for longer distances, but their weight in turn requires the car to expend more energy.

Scientists test blast-resistant concrete

Engineers at the University of Liverpool have tested a new form of concrete designed to reduce the impact of bomb blasts in public areas.

Death enables complexity in chemical evolution

Simple systems can reproduce faster than complex ones. So, how can the complexity of life have arisen from simple chemical beginnings? Starting with a simple system of self-replicating fibers, chemists at the University of ...

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