Biological materials, as physical systems, comprise substances produced by or derived from living organisms, characterized by hierarchical organization from molecular to macroscopic scales and emergent structure–property relationships. They include tissues, extracellular matrices, biominerals, and biopolymers such as collagen, chitin, cellulose, and elastin. Their properties arise from complex architectures combining organic and often inorganic phases, enabling functions such as load bearing, protection, adhesion, and signal transduction. Biological materials exhibit viscoelasticity, anisotropy, self-healing, and adaptive remodeling under mechanical or biochemical stimuli, making them central model systems for biomechanics, biomimetics, and the design of advanced bioinspired and biomedical materials.
Plant-derived materials such as cellulose often exhibit thermally insulating properties. A new material made from nanoscale cellulose fibers shows the reverse, high thermal conductivity. This makes it useful in areas previously ...
Nanophysics
Nov 4, 2022
0
123
Trapped in a microscopic cage made of strands of DNA, molecules of a life-saving drug course through the bloodstream of a cancer patient. Only when receptors on the strands sense they've arrived at the right location—cancer ...
Bio & Medicine
Oct 27, 2022
0
25
Single-use plastics have saved many lives by improving sanitation in health care. However, the sheer quantity of plastic waste—which can take from tens to hundreds of years to decompose—is a global pollution scourge. ...
Nanomaterials
Oct 25, 2022
0
54
The substitution of petrochemical materials with those obtained from renewable raw materials is an important step towards increasing sustainability. Materials derived from plant cellulose are promising candidates for this ...
Bio & Medicine
Oct 19, 2022
0
28
A research team from Southern University of Science and Technology developed an automated intracellular sensing system, which provides a high-efficiency approach to reveal cellular intrinsic characteristics and heterogeneity ...
Bio & Medicine
Oct 17, 2022
0
12
Nanoparticles can be used as powerful vehicles to administer vaccines and prevent serious illness, as with the treatment of COVID-19 and to deliver chemotherapeutic drugs to cancer cells with goal of eradicating the cancer ...
Bio & Medicine
Sep 20, 2022
0
6
Physicists and mathematicians from the Ural Federal University (UrFU) have created a complex mathematical model that calculates the distribution of nanoparticles (in particular, viruses) in living cells. The mathematical ...
Bio & Medicine
Sep 13, 2022
0
25
Working on microscopic pipes only a millionth as wide as a single strand of human hair, Johns Hopkins University researchers have engineered a way to ensure that these tiniest of pipes are safe from the tiniest of leaks.
Bio & Medicine
Sep 7, 2022
0
116
Every day in the United States, 17 people die waiting for an organ transplant, and every nine minutes, another person is added to the transplant waiting list, according to the Health Resources and Services Administration. ...
Bio & Medicine
Aug 25, 2022
0
47
To monitor heart rhythms and muscle function, doctors often attach electrodes to a patient's skin, detecting the electrical signals that lie beneath. These impulses are vital to the early diagnosis and treatment of many disorders, ...
Bio & Medicine
Aug 4, 2022
0
74
