Have you ever imaged high-resolution 3D structures at the micro/nanoscale that react dynamically to their surroundings? The 4D printing technology is changing the game by using smart materials that exhibit remarkable shape ...
Whether you are familiar with the term "Magnus effect" or not, you have certainly seen it in action. It is when a spinning ball—for instance in football, cricket or baseball—bends away from its expected trajectory, often ...
Researchers from Japan have unlocked the potential of tannic acid and ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene oxide by using them to synthesize strong and smart supramolecular gels in a zero-waste process. These gels exhibit ...
Scientists aren't entirely sure how life began on Earth, but one prevailing theory posits that persistent cycles of wet and dry conditions on land helped assemble the complex chemical building blocks necessary for microbial ...
In the age of COVID-19, the word "virus" stirs up thoughts of contagion, sickness, and even death. But what if there were a virus—a very tiny virus capable of replicating itself hundreds of times every half hour—that could ...
A new smart material developed by researchers at the University of Waterloo is activated by both heat and electricity, making it the first ever to respond to two different stimuli.
The elastocaloric effect is a phenomenon where a material displays a temperature change when it is exposed to a mechanical stress. The change in temperature occurs due to an entropy difference resulting from a martensitic ...
Integrative actuators and sensors within a single active device offer compelling capabilities for developing robotics, prosthetic limbs, and minimally invasive surgical tools. But instrumenting these devices at the microscale ...
Optical indicators based colored polymers are autonomous responsive labels that provide an optical signal to represent a specific exposure over time. Polymers that possess a high degree of order can establish structural color, ...
Three scientists were jointly awarded this year's Nobel Prize in chemistry on Wednesday for developing a way of "snapping molecules together" that can be used to explore cells, map DNA and design drugs that can target diseases ...
