New technique gives polyurethane waste a second life

Polyurethane is used in a wide range of materials, including paints, foam mattresses, seat cushions and insulation. These diverse applications generate large amounts of waste. A team at the University of Illinois has developed ...

Evidence of self-forming waterfalls reported

A trio of researchers with the University of Nevada, Reno, the California Institute of Technology and GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences reports evidence that suggests some waterfalls self-form in the absence of external ...

Reliably simulating polyurethane foams

Car seats, mattresses and insulation materials are often made of polyurethane foams. The foaming process of the liquid polymer emulsions is complex. Fraunhofer researchers are now able to simulate the foaming behavior and ...

Reliably simulating polyurethane foams

Car seats, mattresses and insulation materials are often made of polyurethane foams. The foaming process of the liquid polymer emulsions is complex. Fraunhofer researchers are now able to simulate the foaming behavior and ...

A new method for detecting levels of an important amino acid

A team from the Faculty of Chemistry of MSU and colleagues have suggested a new method for determining levels of cysteine, an amino acid used in many drugs, with the help of gold nanoparticles. Unlike current methods, it ...

Memory foam advances give firm support to growing mattress industry

The way we sleep started to change in 1992 with the commercial release of memory foam—a product originally developed at NASA. A decade later, the product became more accessible when the first compressed mattress sold in ...

Skin pigment could help strengthen foams and fabrics

Melanin is the natural molecule in animals' skin, hair and the iris of eyes that gives them color and helps protect them from ultraviolet light. Someday soon, the pigment could be found in unexpected places such as sofa cushions ...

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