Smart skin could soon warn the strain in bridges and airplanes
Thanks to one peculiar characteristic of carbon nanotubes, engineers will soon be able to measure the accumulated strain in an airplane, a bridge, or...
Electric blue thrusters to propel BepiColombo to Mercury
In mid-December, twin discs will begin glowing blue on the underside of a minibus-sized spacecraft in deep space.
At that moment, Europe and Japan's BepiColombo...
Scientists detect light in a different dimension
Scientists have dramatically improved the response of graphene to light through self-assembling wire-like nanostructures that conduct electricity.
The improvement could pave the way for the...
Scientists explore where new solar technologies can be flexible
Rigid silicon solar panels dominate the utility and residential markets, but opportunity exists for thin-film photovoltaic and emerging technologies notable for being lightweight and...
Solar panels for yeast cell biofactories
First yeast biohybrid system using an adaptable light-harvesting semiconductor approach opens the door to more efficient and versatile biomanufacturing
Genetically engineered microbes such as bacteria...
Photoacoustic imaging could change detection, diagnosis of deadly ovarian cancer
Ovarian cancer claims the lives of more than 14,000 in the U.S. each year, ranking fifth among cancer deaths in women.
A multidisciplinary team at...
Scientists create a functional optical lens out of 2D materials
In optics, the era of glass lenses may be waning.
In recent years, physicists and engineers have been designing, constructing and testing different types of...
New approach makes next-generation batteries possible
Dramatically longer-lasting, faster-charging and safer lithium metal batteries may be possible, according to Penn State research, recently published in Nature Energy.
The researchers developed a three-dimensional,...
Scientists discover a new way to make stronger metals with nanotwins
New research shows that metals can be made dramatically stronger by varying the amount of space between nanoscale boundaries in the metal’s atomic lattice.
Researchers...
New materials could allow autonomous vehicles see through rain and fog
Typically, navigation systems for autonomous cars use visible light to identify foreign objects. This works most of the time.
But in misty, foggy, or rainy...