Potholes: How engineers are working to fill in the gaps

Potholes are a perennial problem. They are dangerous to road users, and the damage they cause to vehicles can be hugely expensive. The cost of repairing them is also vast. But still they appear, and reappear, in countless ...

The fix is in: Team studies self-healing polymers

(Phys.org) —A surfboard that seals its own cracks without having to cure in the sun for days. Underwater structures that can be fixed with less work and downtime. Joints that are almost instantly stronger after surgery. ...

Self-healing membranes: Nature shows the way

Lianas whose stabilization rings of woody cells heal spontaneously after suffering damage serve as a natural example to bionic experts of self-repairing membranes. Empa researchers have borrowed this trick from nature and ...

Snail mucus yields natural adhesive for wound healing

Land snails and their mucus were used in ancient times by Hippocrates and Pliny to treat pain associated with burns, abscesses and other wounds. Inspired by this ancient therapy, Prof. Wu Mingyi and his team at the Kunming ...

Building Up Broken Bones

(PhysOrg.com) -- Any one of the 8 million Americans who suffer bone fractures each year knows how hard it is to wait for the bones to knit, or heal. Bone healing is also important for integration of dental implants for people ...

Researchers work to improve the lifecycle of materials

When most living creatures get hurt, they can self-heal and recover from the injury. But, when damage occurs to inanimate objects, they don't have that same ability and typically either lose functionality or have their useful ...

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