SciGlow | All Science News In One Place
SciGlow is a newsletter of science stories from the major research labs. Headlines link to in-depth articles and editorials. SciGlow keeps scientists and others up-to-date on current research.
When exploring virtual reality, most consider the simulation as a visual experience. New technology at Western University will allow neuroscientists and audiologists to investigate simulated spaces through sound. Ingrid Johnsrude, Director of Western’s renowned Brain and Mind Institute, and her collaborators at the School of Communication Sciences & Disorders and the National Centre for Audiology … Read more
A team of researchers at McMaster University has developed a self-cleaning surface that can repel all forms of bacteria, preventing the transfer of antibiotic-resistant superbugs and other dangerous bacteria in settings ranging from hospitals to kitchens. The new plastic surface – a treated form of conventional transparent wrap – can be shrink-wrapped onto door handles, … Read more
The motivations for using biology as inspiration to engineering vary based on the project, but for Ling Li, assistant professor of mechanical engineering in the College of Engineering, the combination of flexibility and protection seen in the chiton mollusk was all the motivation necessary. “The system we’ve developed is based on the chiton, which has … Read more
Can two layers of the “king of the wonder materials,” i.e. graphene, be linked and converted to the thinnest diamond-like material, the “king of the crystals”? Researchers of the Center for Multidimensional Carbon Materials (CMCM) within the Institute for Basic Science (IBS, South Korea) have reported in Nature Nanotechnology the first experimental observation of a … Read more
Living beings contain their own assembly and operating instructions in the form of DNA. That’s not the case with inanimate objects: anyone wishing to 3D print an object also requires a set of instructions. If they then choose to print that same object again years later, they need access to the original digital information. The … Read more
Scientists from The Australian National University (ANU) have invented a new jelly material that mimics biological matter such as skin, ligaments and bone, and which is very strong, self-healing and able to change shape. The team say the hydrogel could enable a new class of medical implants or artificial muscles for next-generation robots that could one … Read more
What if we could use antibodies as functional tools for nanotechnology applications? A group of researchers at the University of Rome Tor Vergata started from this simple question and the results of their research are now published in Nature Communications. Nanotechnology enables the design and fabrication of molecular structures of nanoscale dimensions that hold a great … Read more
A new tool that simultaneously compares 1.4 million genetic sequences can classify how species are related to each other at far larger scales than previously possible. Described today in Nature Biotechnology by researchers from the Centre for Genomic Regulation in Barcelona, the technology can reconstruct how life has evolved over hundreds of millions of years … Read more
Perovskite nanocrystals hold promise for improving a wide variety of optoelectronic devices – from lasers to light emitting diodes (LEDs) – but problems with their durability still limit the material’s broad commercial use. Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have demonstrated a novel approach aimed at addressing the material’s durability problem: encasing the perovskite … Read more
Scientists at the University of California Santa Barbara, HRL Laboratories LLC, and the U.S. Army Research Laboratory have developed elastic microlattice pads that can withstand both single hits and a series of impacts better than existing state-of-the-art foams used in football helmets. Their research, publishing November 27 in the journal Matter, suggests that the material may … Read more