Tech
A modified glue gun squirts a material to help heal broken bones
The handheld printer might someday apply bone-repair patches directly onto fractures — complete with antibiotics to prevent infection.
By Payal Dhar
Materials Science
More Stories in Materials Science
- Materials Science
Spooky! Grooved surface sends ice sailing — no outside push needed
Boulders that have mysteriously moved across Death Valley’s landscape inspired the work. The new surface can slingshot ice in a chosen direction.
- Chemistry
Structures that work like Hermione’s magic handbag land a chemistry Nobel
Richard Robson, Susumu Kitagawa and Omar Yaghi developed these metal-organic frameworks, which can trap pollutants, collect water from air and more.
- Materials Science
Scientists transform pee into a golden opportunity
By transforming urine into a valuable medical product, scientists hope to change how we view this human waste.
- Tech
Get a sneak peek at the tech you may use in the future
Holograms, 3-D printed clothing, personal robots — these technologies and more might one day transform your daily life.
- Tech
Pickleballs inspire a new way to reduce drag on vehicles
Dimples in a skin can be adjusted on demand to reduce drag or to steer where a vehicle goes.
- Physics
How polarized and UV-blocking sunglasses protect our eyes
Their filters can cut glare to help us see more clearly. The best ones also filter out the sun’s UV rays — even on cloudy days — to limit eye damage.
- Materials Science
This electric ‘slime’ might help injuries heal faster
Our bodies call in healing cells with an electrical signal. When stretched or squeezed, this gel makes electricity that could boost that alert.
- Materials Science
A beautiful blue butterfly wing offers a new way to study cancer
Once a morpho butterfly wing is placed atop a thin slice of tissue, shining polarized light through it can help reveal how likely breast cancer is to spread.
- Materials Science
This engineer uses light to get hearts pumping
Pengju Li designed a new type of pacemaker to help doctors during open-heart surgery.
