New approach to determining how atoms are arranged in materials

Researchers have have developed a novel approach to materials characterization, using Bayesian statistical methods to glean new insights into the structure of materials.

Battery you can swallow could enable future ingestible medical devices (w/video)

Non-toxic, edible batteries could one day power ingestible devices for diagnosing and treating disease. One team reports new progress toward that goal with their batteries made with melanin pigments, naturally found in the skin, hair and eyes.

Stretchy supercapacitors power wearable electronics

In a step toward wearable electronics, a team of researchers has produced a stretchy micro-supercapacitor using ribbons of graphene.

A silicon-metal nanocomposite for high capacity lithium-ion batteries

Researchers have developed an anode material for lithium-ion rechargeable batteries by forming nanoparticles made of silicon-metal composites on metal substrates. The resulting anode material had high capacity and a long cycle life.

Study reveals new physics of how fluids flow in porous media

Key flow mechanisms, crucial to carbon sequestration and fuel-cell operation, have been visualized.

Nanofur for oil spill cleanup

Materials researchers learn from aquatic ferns: Hairy plant leaves are highly oil-absorbing.

New microchip demonstrates efficiency and scalable design

Researchers have built a new computer chip that promises to boost performance of data centers that lie at the core of online services from email to social media.