Materials Science
- Animals
Bacteria make ‘spider silk’ that’s stronger than steel
Part spider silk, the material is better than what some spiders make. Researchers think it might make the basis for surgical threads or unusually strong fabrics.
- Brain
A sense of touch could upgrade virtual reality, prosthetics and more
Scientists and engineers are trying to add touch to online shopping, virtual doctor appointments and artificial limbs.
- Climate
Research on climate and more brings trio the 2021 physics Nobel Prize
Syukuro Manabe and Klaus Hasselmann pioneered work on simulations of Earth’s climate. Giorgio Parisi probed complex materials.
- Materials Science
Tiny swimming robots may help clean up a microplastics mess
Big problem, tiny solution. Researchers in the Czech Republic have designed swimming robots that can help collect and break down microplastics.
- Chemistry
Scientists Say: Aerosol
Aerosols are tiny bits of solids or drops of liquids suspended in gas. Aerosols include mist, fog and soot, as well as pollution from fossil fuels.
- Materials Science
Take a look at this weird, bendy type of ice
These specially grown threads of ice bend into curves, then spring back when released.
- Environment
Let’s learn about plastic pollution
The world is cluttered with plastic waste. All that junk kills animals far and wide.
- Animals
Abdominal fuzz makes bee bodies super slippery
Scientists find that tiny hairs on a honeybee’s abdomen reduce wear and tear as a bee’s outer skeletal parts rub against each other all day long.
- Materials Science
‘Smart’ pasta morphs into fun shapes as it cooks
The trick to this shape-shifting are grooves cut into the raw pasta. Those grooves affect how the noodles swell as they cook.
- Physics
Scientists Say: Bond
In chemistry, this attachment between atoms forms because of the power of attraction. Chemical bonds make up every solid object on Earth.
- Chemistry
Scientists Say: Metal
Metals are substances that can be elements, alloys or compounds. They all conduct heat and electricity and can be formed into different shapes.
- Computing
New device gets power from 5G signals grabbed from the air
A new way to harvest electricity relies on a tiny array of antennas and a lens. Together, they collect and focus 5G signals coming from any direction.
