Worth a look:
‘Rechargeable’ anti-microbial surfaces boost food safety
A University of Massachusetts Amherst food scientist is developing a way to improve food safety by adding a thin anti-microbial layer to food-handling surfaces. Only tens of nanometers thick, it chemically “re-charges” its germ-killing powers every time it’s rinsed with common household bleach.
Overview of NIST’s Polymers Division
Established in 1962, the Polymers Division in the Material Measurement Laboratory of the National Institute of Standards and Technology will soon celebrate its 50th year as a world leader in polymers research.
Moth eye-inspired antireflective material boosts efficiency of solar cells
Researchers at Nagaoka University of Technology (Japan), Mitsubishi Rayon Co. Ltd. and Tokyo Metropolitan University pioneered a way to use anodic porous alumina molds to nanoimprint the microstructure similar to a moth’s eye into acrylic resin. The film could boost solar cell efficiency 5-6 percent.
Torque vectoring gears for smaller, more efficient wind turbines
Gigmag’s Darren Quick reports that investigators at the Technische Universitaet Muenchen “have now adapted this technology to wind turbines, to eliminate the need for converting the alternating current produced by the turbines into direct current and back again before it is fed into the grid.”
Second wave of ‘cleantech’ investing coming?
GigaOM’s Katie Fehrenbacher reports on what may be a renaissance in venture capital firms’ interest in clean and green technologies. What might be guiding their way this time? A) Being more realistic about how long commercialization takes; B) Look for opportunities outside the U.S., such as China, Brazil, India and even Europe.