Sea urchin spurs new ideas for lightweight materials

Materials researchers love sea creatures. Mother-of-pearl provokes ideas for smooth surfaces, clams inspire gluey substances, shark's skin is used to develop materials that reduce drag in water, and so on. Researchers have now found a model for strong, lightweight materials by diving below the sea surface to investigate a sea urchin cousin known as the heart urchin.

Microwave field imaging using diamond and vapor cells

Researchers have developed two new methods for imaging microwave fields. Both methods exploit the change in spin states induced by an applied microwave field.

Hydrogel superglue is 90 percent water

Engineers have developed a method to make synthetic, sticky hydrogel that is more than 90 percent water. The hydrogel, which is a transparent, rubber-like material, can adhere to surfaces such as glass, silicon, ceramics, aluminum, and titanium with a toughness comparable to the bond between tendon and cartilage on bone.

New electron microscopy method sculpts 3-D structures at atomic level

Electron microscopy researchers have developed a unique way to build 3-D structures with finely controlled shapes as small as one to two nanometers.

Advance could bring commercial applications for silver nanowires

Silver nanowires hold promise for applications such as flexible displays and solar cells, but their susceptibility to damage from highly energetic UV radiation and harsh environmental conditions has limited their commercialization. New research suggests wrapping the nanowires with an ultrathin layer of carbon called graphene protects the structures from damage and could represent a key to realizing their commercial potential.

Researchers find way to make metals stronger without sacrificing ductility

Scientists have developed a technique to make titanium stronger without sacrificing any of the metal?s ductility - a combination that no one has achieved before. The researchers believe the technique could also be used for other metals, and the advance has potential applications for creating more energy-efficient vehicles.

A new way to look at metal organic frameworks

An international collaboration of scientists has developed a technique they dubbed 'gas adsorption crystallography' that provides a new way to study the process by which metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are able to store immense volumes of gases such a carbon dioxide, hydrogen and methane. This new look at MOFs led to a discovery that holds promise for the improved design of MOFs tailored specifically for carbon capture, or for the use of hydrogen and natural gas fuels.