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[Images above] Credit: NIST


NANOMATERIALS

Through the quantum looking glass

Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories and the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light developed a metasurface that paves the way for entangling photons in complex ways that have not been possible with compact technologies. The metasurface consists of an ultrathin sample of glass covered in nanoscale structures made of gallium arsenide.

Nanotubes illuminate the way to living photovoltaics

Researchers led by Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne succeeded in getting bacteria to spontaneously take up fluorescent carbon nanotubes by decorating the nanotubes with positively charged proteins. Following this success, the team wants to see if the nanotubes can be used to image cyanobacteria.


ENERGY

Nanogenerators could produce significant electricity from sea waves

Researchers led by Beijing Institute of Nanoenergy and Nanosystems designed a wave-powered nanogenerator that consists of a spring-like coil inside a cylinder. So far, the new invention has been found to produce up to 347 watts of power per cubic meter, which is 30 times more power generation than other triboelectric devices.


BIOMATERIALS

Research suggests improved mineralized material can restore tooth enamel

Researchers from Ural Federal University, Voronezh State University, and Voronezh State Medical University in Russia and colleagues from Al-Azhar University and the National Research Center in Egypt added a complex of amino acids to hydroxyapatite and formed a dental coating that replicates the composition and microstructure of natural enamel.

Rehabilitating spinal cord injury with graphene

Researchers led by University of Aveiro are developing a matrix and graphene-based material that skilfully mimics the morphology of the native spinal cord. In the months ahead, they will transplant miniature versions of their scaffold into rats.


ENVIRONMENT

Developing a sustainable concrete substitute

Worcester Polytechnic Institute researchers are working to improve and develop new functions for their enzymatic construction material, which is made through a process involving the enzyme carbonic anhydrase. The enzymatic reaction creates calcium carbonate crystals, which serve as the material’s main ingredient.

Algae could help reduce concrete’s enormous carbon emissions

University of Colorado Boulder researchers are looking into the use of algae-derived limestone for environmentally friendly cement production. It could help eliminate 60% of the emissions associated with cement manufacturing.


MANUFACTURING

High-strength pultruded thermoplastic composites made of new raw material

Instead of the conventionally used source tape, researchers at the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology used so-called preconsolidated sheets in pultrusion to produce flat laminates, resulting in a surprising 20–27% increase in the composite’s strength.


OTHER STORIES

Folded diamond discovered in a rare type of meteorite

Researchers led by RMIT University and Monash University investigated layered diamonds with distinctive fold patterns found inside a rare group of meteorites known as ureilites. They found the intriguing fold shapes were composed of polycrystalline lonsdaleite, and the lonsdaleite had been partially converted to diamond and graphite.

Magneto-optic modulator for interactions between ultracold and room-temp computers

An international team of scientists designed a device to help cryogenic computers talk with their fair-weather counterparts. The mechanism uses a magnetic field to convert data from electrical current to pulses of light, which can then travel via fiber-optic cables.

Renewable energy solar garden may help expand community access

A five-hectare paddock on a farm in Grong Grong, Australia, was earmarked as a 1.5 MW “solar garden” that includes “plots” that can be purchased by residents throughout New South Wales. The concept is similar to community gardening, where people without a backyard can still garden by buying or renting a plot in a communal area.

First-of-its-kind 3D-printed home blends concrete, wood

An industrial-sized 3D printer is adding a second floor to a Houston home that will be the first multistory printed structure in the United States. The home also features a first-of-its-kind hybrid design connecting structural elements composed of 3D-printed concrete with conventional wood framing representative of most U.S. residential construction.

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