Chemists have found that deliquescent minerals, which dissolve in water they absorb from humid air, can assist the construction of proteins from simpler building blocks during cycles timed to mimic day and night on the early Earth.
Read moreStable metal organic frameworks are prized for their ability to capture carbon dioxide or harvest atmospheric water, but researchers have developed a use for unstable metal organic frameworks: as a system for drug delivery.
Read moreA team of researchers captured the 3D motion of an athlete performing undulatory swimming. They find that the vortex wakes created led to jet flows that contribute to the propulsion. This research has implication for energy efficient eel-like sailing.
Read moreA researcher has shown for the first time that the shape of a nanostructure has an effect on its ability to retain water. This has important ramifications for heat transfer, which is important when it comes to performance in small electronics.
Read moreChemists have fabricated for the first time plasmonic color-switchable films of silver nanoparticles. Until now, such color changing of nanoparticles was mainly achieved in liquids, limiting their potential for practical applications. The technology has a number of applications: product authentication, color displays, signage, sensors, and information encryption.
Read moreResearchers have found it can significantly boost an existing polymer's ability to selectively remove carbon dioxide out of gas mixtures by first submerging the material in liquid water.
Read moreLiquid and solid – most people are unaware that there can be states in between. Liquid crystals are representative of one such state. While the molecules in liquids swim around at random, neighboring molecules in liquid crystals are aligned as in regular crystal grids, but the material is still liquid.
Read moreInspired by cephalopods, scientists developed an aquatic robot that mimics their form of propulsion. These high-speed, squidlike robots are made of smart materials, which make them hard to detect, while maintaining a low environmental footprint. Physicists used numerical simulations to illustrate the physical mechanisms and fluid mechanics of a squid's swimming method. By using this form of locomotion, the new device can achieve impressive speeds, just like its animal inspiration.
Read moreResearchers have designed 3-D printed mesh-like structures that morph from flat layers into predetermined shapes, such as a human face, in response to changes in ambient temperature.
Read moreThere has been a critical gap in the ability to identify which households experience issues with reliably accessing safe water in sufficient quantities for all household uses, from drinking and cooking to bathing and cleaning — until now.
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