Matter and Its Interactions

Chemistry

Cellulose may keep ice cream from turning gritty in your freezer

Adding nanocrystals extracted from wood avoids the growth of ice crystals, keeping your treat smooth and creamy.

Materials Science

This new fabric can ‘hear’ sounds or broadcast them

With special fibers that convert tiny vibrations to voltages, a new fabric senses sound. Someday, such fabrics could monitor the body or aid hearing.

Materials Science

Let’s learn about the future of smart clothing

Researchers are fashioning new materials to make clothes more comfortable and convenient.

Planets

Mercury’s surface may be studded with diamonds

Billions of years of meteorite impacts may have transformed much of Mercury's graphite crust into precious gemstones.

Environment

Analyze This: Corals stash microplastics in their skeletons

Scientists have wondered where the ocean’s microplastic pollution ends up. Corals may trap about 1 percent of particles in tropical waters each year.

Chemistry

New cloth cools you when you’re hot, warms you when you’re cold

Scientists 3-D printed the new fabric, which has even more tricks up its sleeve — such as conducting electricity and resisting radio waves.

Materials Science

Engineers borrow a tree’s cellulose to toughen new materials

Cellulose gives plants their strength. Engineers are turning this renewable, environmentally friendly resource into brand new materials.

Tech

A new device uses atoms’ quantum weirdness to peer underground

Quantum sensors like this one could monitor magma beneath volcanoes or uncover archaeological artifacts.

Chemistry

A disinfectant made from sawdust knocks out deadly microbes

It’s made by pressure-cooking sawdust and water, is cheap and easy to make — and could lead to greener cleaning products than chemicals used today.

Archaeology

The earliest known pants are surprisingly modern — and comfy

This 3,000-year-old garment was not only stylish but also functional. By recreating it, scientists also unraveled its complex and multicultural origins.

Chemistry

Scientists Say: Cellulose

Cellulose is an abundant natural polymer found in plants and algae. It’s used to make everything from paper to clothing.

Chemistry

New process can transform urban CO₂ pollution into a resource

Researchers have developed a liquid metal that breaks down carbon dioxide in the air, converting it from a climate threat into a valuable raw material.