Researchers in the U.K. are out to make the lives of money and document counterfeiters harder. They have created intensely colored polymers, where the colors come from the structure of the polymers and not any pigments. The chemistry of the polymers makes them harder to copy in paper money and passports. The University of Sheffield [...]
Happy Memorial Day!
May 30, 2011 By Leave a Comment
In recognition of Memorial Day, there won’t be a post for today. See you tomorrow! Image by Remember, used under Fair Use: Public Domain.
Polymer “Band-Aid” for Heart
May 27, 2011 By 1 Comment
When you skin your knee, you can treat the injured area with a Band-Aid. Researchers have now come up with a special polymer-based “Band-Aid” for injured parts of the heart. The new medical device could provide cardiac surgeons a new way to treat heart attacks in the future. The novel polymer-based medical device could potentially [...]
What’s in a Tennis Ball Besides Rubber?
May 26, 2011 By Leave a Comment
A polymer-and-rubber buff would love to know what gives tennis balls their bounce. But according to a The Wall Street Journal article, manufacturers aren’t telling. Organizers of the French Open this year (May 17 to June 5)Â have switched from the Dunlop brand of tennis balls to the Babolat ones. Players like Novak Djokovic, the men’s [...]
Polymer Filter Could Speed Up Communications
May 25, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Researchers have come up with a new polymer-based technology that could make computers and the Internet a whole lot faster. Like a hundred times faster. Features Editor Barry Copping at Plastics and Rubbers Weekly reported that the team of Koby Scheuer of the Tel Aviv University’s School of Electrical Engineering have created a novel optical filter. [...]
A Spicy Kick to Plastics
May 24, 2011 By 1 Comment
Plastics have always been a hot venture but now they get spicier. Researchers at New Mexico State University (NMSU) are looking at combining the chile plant with plastics. If they get it to work, the venture will bring in money to New Mexico. The New Mexico State University’s Chile Pepper Institute specializes in crossbreeding and [...]
China’s Energy Crisis Affects Plastics Manufacturing
May 23, 2011 By Leave a Comment
An energy crisis has hit central China, which is affecting its plastics manufacturing. The crisis has been exacerbated by a drought that is reducing hydroelectricity capacity. An Associated Press article reports that the energy crisis in the industrial regions west of Shanghai is the worst in years. The China Electricity Council, an industry group, estimates [...]
BD Develops New Medical Device for Glucose Monitoring
May 20, 2011 By 1 Comment
Becton Dickinson & Co. is developing a needle-based medical device to monitor blood sugar and deliver insulin. The new technology could lead the way for artificial pancreases for diabetics. The company, which manufactures syringes and drug infusion systems, has developed a sensor for faster and more reliable glucose readings on continuous monitoring systems. Continuous glucose [...]
Ford’s Venture Into Plastics From Weeds
May 19, 2011 By Leave a Comment
It looks like researchers are searching far and wide for petroleum substitutes for manufacturing plastics. There were the chicken-feather example and the fruit one. Now the automaker Ford says it will use dandelions, the bane of many a pristine lawn, to get plastic additives. According to Sebastian Blanco who writes for The New York Times [...]
Polymer Membrane for Better Carbon Dioxide Capture
May 18, 2011 By 1 Comment
Researchers in Canada and Korea have come up with a polymer material that has extraordinary gas permeability that can separate carbon dioxide. The work may help investigators to develop inexpensive and energy-efficient ways to capture carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. As Senior Editor Mitch Jacoby reports in Chemical & Engineering News, the most sophisticated [...]
