Better batteries inspired by lowly snail shells

Scientists are using biology to improve the properties of lithium ion batteries. Researchers at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) have isolated a peptide, a type of biological molecule, which binds strongly ...

Scientists use nanoparticles to control growth of materials

(Phys.org) —Growth is a ubiquitous phenomenon in plants and animals. But it also occurs naturally in chemicals, metals and other inorganic materials. That fact has, for decades, posed a major challenge for scientists and ...

Learning from biology to create new materials

In nature, some organisms create their own mineralized body parts—such as bone, teeth and shells—from sources they find readily available in their environment. Certain sea creatures, for example, construct their shells ...

Materials database proves its mettle with new discoveries

Trying to find new materials, to improve the performance of anything from microchips to car bodies, has always been a process of trial and error. MIT materials scientist Gerbrand Ceder likens it to setting out from Boston ...

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