The surprising thermal properties of cellulose nanofibers
Plant-derived materials such as cellulose often exhibit thermally insulating properties. A new material made from nanoscale cellulose fibers shows the reverse, high thermal conductivity. This makes it useful in areas previously dominated by synthetic.....»»
Organic nanozymes have broad applications from food and agriculture to biomedicine
Nanozymes are tiny, engineered substances that mimic the catalytic properties of natural enzymes, and they serve a variety of purposes in biomedicine, chemical engineering, and environmental applications. They are typically made from inorganic materi.....»»
Scientists convert bacteria into efficient cellulose producers
Bacteria produce materials that are of interest to humans, such as cellulose, silk and minerals. The advantage of producing bacteria in this way is that it is sustainable, takes place at room temperature and in water. A disadvantage is that the proce.....»»
Microsoft considers surprising change to prevent future outages
Microsoft wants to follow in Apple's footsteps to prevent the CrowdStrike outage from happening again, but it's easier said than done......»»
Researchers explore interplay between high-affinity DNA and carbon nanotubes
Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) have emerged as promising candidates for applications in biotechnology and nanoelectronics due to their exceptional physical and chemical properties. Despite their potential, challenges like insolubility and to.....»»
Nvidia may be working on a surprising new budget GPU
Nvidia is reportedly readying a new version of an RTX 30-series graphics card, and the chip inside it is quite unexpected......»»
A swinging showerhead leads to discovery of a new mode of vibration in nature
During the hot summer of 2020, confined to his Pasadena home during the COVID-19 pandemic, National Medal of Science-winning applied physicist Amnon Yariv took frequent and long showers to cool off. A surprising result, to go with his record-breaking.....»»
Findings reveal the unique characteristics of short-chain branched polymers
A research team affiliated with UNIST has made a significant breakthrough in understanding the properties of short-chain branched (SCB) polymers. The findings have far-reaching implications for various industrial applications, as SCB polymers can exh.....»»
Inspired by cicada wings, researchers study the insects" antimicrobial properties to develop antibacterial surfaces
Trillions of periodical cicadas—several species of the genus Magicicada that emerge every 13 or 17 years—broke soil across the Eastern U.S. this summer. News outlets likened the event to Armageddon, an apocalypse or an invasion. But what about us.....»»
Scientists publish first experimental evidence for new groups of methane-producing organisms
A team of scientists from Montana State University has provided the first experimental evidence that two new groups of microbes thriving in thermal features in Yellowstone National Park produce methane—a discovery that could one day contribute to t.....»»
Physicists control electronic properties of moiré crystals
If you make a material thinner and thinner, at a certain point it undergoes a seemingly miraculous transformation: A two-dimensional material that consists of only one or two layers of molecules sometimes has completely different properties than the.....»»
Synthesis of a new compound with excellent intrinsic magnetic properties using smaller amounts of rare earth elements
The National Institute for Materials Science has successfully synthesized a new SmFe-based magnetic compound, SmFe8.8N1.1, which possesses superior intrinsic magnetic properties when compared to those of NdFeB compound used in neodymium magnets. The.....»»
Estuaries and coastlines capture most plastic before it gets out to sea, providing a chance to stop ocean pollution
If you ask someone where plastic ends up, they will usually say the ocean. It's not a surprising answer because we have known since the 1970s that plastic is accumulating in the subtropical oceans, far from land......»»
Spontaneous supercrystal discovered in switching metal-insulator
A supercrystal formation previously unobserved in a metal-insulating material was discovered by a Cornell-led research team, potentially unlocking new ways to engineer materials and devices with tunable electronic properties......»»
A novel thermal insulation material for ultra-high temperature applications: Hierarchical porous high-entropy ceramics
Thermal insulation material is a critical part of the thermal protection system (TPS) of hypersonic vehicles. Recently, high-entropy ceramics have attracted great attention in thermal insulation for their low thermal conductivity due to the scatterin.....»»
Organic polymer blend microspheres exhibit ultra-low threshold lasing with highest reported quality factor
Researchers at IMDEA Nanociencia have fabricated high quality microspheres from conjugated organic polymer blends with excellent lasing properties. The laser emission of the microspheres has the highest quality factor reported to date, Q>18,000......»»
Meta files a patent to copy Vision Pro’s EyeSight feature
Meta has filed a patent for a method of replicating Vision Pro’s EyeSight feature in its own virtual reality headsets. It’s not surprising that Meta is keeping a close eye on Vision Pro, and looking to see what lessons it can learn for its own.....»»
A Nintendo cult classic is getting a surprising spiritual successor
Former Chibi-Robo developers have formed a new studio to create koROBO, a spiritual successor to GameCube cult hit Chibi-Robo......»»
A new way to control the magnetic properties of rare earth elements
The special properties of rare earth magnetic materials are due to the electrons in the 4f shell. Until now, the magnetic properties of 4f electrons were considered almost impossible to control......»»
Studies find China-based emissions of three potent climate-warming greenhouse gases have spiked in past decade
When it comes to heating up the planet, not all greenhouse gases are created equal. They vary widely in their global warming potential (GWP), a measure of how much infrared thermal radiation a greenhouse gas would absorb over a given time frame once.....»»
How a futuristic material is able to change its properties from soft to rigid, and back again
In our everyday life, we are surrounded by objects that have properties enabling them to perform certain functions. Rigidity and softness enable an object to perform a specific function. These properties are seemingly opposing in nature, and one prop.....»»