Engineers make clear droplets produce iridescent colors (w/video)

Optical effect could be harnessed for light displays, litmus tests, and makeup products.

Good news for future tech: Exotic topological materials are surprisingly common

In a major step forward for an area of research that earned the 2016 Nobel Prize in Physics, an international team has found that substances with exotic electronic behaviors called topological materials are in fact quite common, and include everyday elements such as arsenic and gold.

Fast, flexible ionic transistors for bioelectronic devices

Engineers develop novel ion driven transistor that enables real-time sensing and processing of body signals, a major building block for integrated bioelectronics with application to the brain and beyond.

A new method for precision drug delivery: painting

Researchers are integrating ultrasound imaging with ultrasound therapy to pave the way for a new kind of drug delivery.

Packaging insecticides in nanocapsules may make them more toxic

Encasing insecticides in microscopic plastic capsules -- a common formulation for many pest sprays on the market -- could lead to unintended consequences.

Now you see heat, now you don't

Researchers have fabricated an inexpensive, easy-to-produce film that makes objects completely invisible to infrared detectors.

Directed evolution builds nanoparticles

Scientists have been able to use directed evolution to build not proteins, but synthetic nanoparticles. These nanoparticles are used as optical biosensors.

Examining silver nanoparticles in natural environments

Researchers have developed a method to investigate the behaviour of silver nanoparticles in natural waters. The particles regularly enter the sea from products such as sportswear and food packaging. What happens to them there is largely unknown.