DNA evolved to store genetic information, but in principle this special, chain-like molecule can also be adapted to make new materials. Chemists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have now published an important demonstration ...
Materials Science
Oct 11, 2017
0
385
Water droplets float in a hot pan because of the so-called Leidenfrost effect. Now, physicists have discovered a variation: the elastic Leidenfrost effect. It explains why hydrogel balls jump around on a hot plate making ...
Condensed Matter
Jul 24, 2017
0
236
Hydrogels are polymer materials that can absorb a large amount of water, making them flexible like human tissue. They are used in a number of medical applications, including contact lenses, wound dressings, and facial reconstruction.
Biochemistry
Jul 5, 2017
0
5
Scientists at the University of California, Riverside have developed an inexpensive, biodegradable, seaweed-based ant bait that can help homeowners and farmers control invasive Argentine ant populations.
Plants & Animals
May 19, 2017
0
154
Geckos are well known for effortlessly scrambling up walls and upside down across ceilings. Even in slippery rain forests, the lizards maintain their grip. Now scientists have created a double-sided adhesive that copies this ...
Materials Science
Apr 26, 2017
1
73
Small angle neutron scattering (SANS) at the Australian Centre for Neutron Scattering has confirmed that the strength of a type of supramolecular hydrogel can be increased by heating.
Materials Science
Apr 13, 2017
0
278
Engineers at MIT have fabricated transparent, gel-based robots that move when water is pumped in and out of them. The bots can perform a number of fast, forceful tasks, including kicking a ball underwater, and grabbing and ...
Robotics
Feb 1, 2017
1
204
(Phys.org)—A combined team of researchers from Boston University and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, also in Boston, has published a paper in the journal Angewandte Chemie describing a new type of hydrogel they have ...
If you leave a cube of Jell-O on the kitchen counter, eventually its water will evaporate, leaving behind a shrunken, hardened mass—hardly an appetizing confection. The same is true for hydrogels. Made mostly of water, ...
Materials Science
Jun 27, 2016
0
37
A gap-toothed peptide created by bioengineers at Rice University may be an efficient way to deliver insoluble drugs to precise locations in the body.
Materials Science
Jun 7, 2016
1
18
