Chameleons are famous for their color-changing abilities. Depending on their body temperature or mood, their nervous system directs skin tissue that contains nanocrystals to expand or contract, changing how the nanocrystals reflect light and turning the reptile's skin a...
In work that could help prevent the failure of everything from bridges to dental implants, a team led by a researcher at Texas A&M University has taken the first 3-D image of a microscopic crack propagating through a metal...
Renewable sources of energy such as wind or photovoltaic are intermittent; production peaks do not necessarily follow the demand peaks. Storing green energy is therefore essential to moving away from fossil fuels. The energy produced by photovoltaic cells and...
Cardiff Catalysis Institute researchers develop new processes with industry and promote catalysis as a sustainable 21st century technology.
Credit: Mike Hall Photography
Scientists at Cardiff University have created methanol from methane using oxygen from the air.
Methanol is currently...
Although robotic devices are used in everything from assembly lines to medicine, engineers have a hard time accounting for the friction that occurs when those robots grip objects -- particularly in wet environments. Researchers have now discovered a new...
Someday, the gasoline you buy might trace its heritage to carbon dioxide pulled straight out of the sky rather than from oil pumped out of the ground. By removing emitted carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and turning it into...
One of the greatest global challenges is the efficient use of renewable sources in order to meet the increasing demand for energy and feedstock chemicals in the future. In this context, biomass is a promising alternative to existing fossil...
NUS PhD student Mr Liu Wei showing the two-dimensional graphene-like polymer (left), and a piece of carbon paper coated with the novel material (right).
Credit: National University of Singapore
Polymers, such as plastic and synthetic textiles, are very useful technological commodities...
Chocolate as a medical aid?
Credit: BYU Photo
What if eating chocolate helped prevent and treat diabetes? It's crazy enough to laugh off.
But here's the thing: BYU researchers have discovered certain compounds found in cocoa can actually help...
The quest to keep plastic out of landfills and simultaneously satisfy the needs of the food industry is filled with obstacles.
A biodegradable replacement for petroleum-based products has to meet all sorts of standards and, so far, attempts at viable...
Water is perhaps Earth's most critical natural resource. Given increasing demand and increasingly stretched water resources, scientists are pursuing more innovative ways to use and reuse existing water, as well as to design new materials to improve water purification...
