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[Images above] Credit: NIST

 

NANOMATERIALS

Penn engineers develop ultrathin, ultralight ‘nanocardboard’

Researchers have demonstrated a new material they call “nanocardboard,” an ultrathin equivalent of corrugated paper cardboard. It’s made out of an aluminum oxide film with a thickness of tens of nanometers, and more than ten thousand times as stiff as a solid plate of the same mass.

Kitchen items shed low amounts of antimicrobial nanoparticles after use

Scientists simulated knife motion, washing, and scratching on bacteria-fighting, nanosilver-infused cutting boards to see if consumer use affects nanoparticle release. The test should help regulatory bodies identify if any safety or health risks exist from silver nanoparticles in kitchenware.

Nano-scale process may speed arrival of cheaper hi-tech products

Researchers at the University of Edinburgh and California Institute of Technology built a fuel cell using a nozzle-free electrospinning device – a rotating drum in a bath of liquid under high voltage and temperature.

 

ENERGY

Stretchy solar cells a step closer

Rice University researchers have developed flexible organic photovoltaics that could be useful where constant, low-power generation is sufficient. The team incorporated a network of elastic additives that make the electrically active material less brittle with little to no loss of current flow.

Graphene takes a step towards renewable fuel

Researchers at Linköping University are working to develop a method to convert water and carbon dioxide to the renewable energy of the future, using the energy from the sun and graphene applied to the surface of cubic silicon carbide.

New design could greatly extend the shelf life of single-use metal-air batteries

MIT researchers’ new metal-air battery design overcomes the problem of corrosion in aluminum-air batteries by introducing an oil barrier between the aluminum electrode and the electrolyte. The oil is rapidly pumped away and replaced with electrolyte as soon as the battery is used.

 

BIOMATERIALS

Novel memristor neuron circuits offer building blocks for mimicking the brain

Scientists have successfully demonstrated electronic neuron circuits that exhibit as many as 23 known behaviors of biological neurons and three distinctive neuron classes activation that code information between neurons about sensory events, cognitive processes, or motor actions.

Bioprinted corneas are nearly ready for human trials

North Carolina-based bioprinting startup Precise Bio is focused on getting the regulatory green light to conduct the first-in-human trials of its bioprinted corneas. If those go well, corneas could become the first 3D-printed body part to go mainstream.

Rutgers researchers advance stem cell therapy with biodegradable scaffold

Rutgers scientists have created a tiny, biodegradable scaffold to transplant stem cells and deliver drugs, which may help treat Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, aging brain degeneration, spinal cord injuries, and traumatic brain injuries.

 

OTHER STORIES

HT-CMC10 call for contributions

The 10th International Conference on High Temperature Ceramic Matrix Composites will take place in Bordeaux, France from September 22–26, 2019. Visit www.ht-cmc10.org to submit your abstract until February 15, 2019.

Informing the search for superconducting materials

A research group in Japan has applied materials informatics approaches to discover new superconducting materials. They discovered novel materials that exhibit superconductivity under high pressures using an MI methodology.

Cell phone technology developed to detect HIV

Investigators from Brigham and Women’s Hospital have designed a portable and affordable mobile diagnostic tool, utilizing a cellphone and nanotechnology, with the ability to detect HIV viruses and monitor its management in resource-limited regions.

New computing cluster coming to Livermore

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory will accept delivery of Corona, a new unclassified high-performance computing cluster that will provide unique capabilities for researchers and industry partners to explore data science, machine learning and big data analytics.

 

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