Scientists are using polymers to help prevent the hardening of soft tissue that often occurs following orthopedic surgery and amputations. The research team — led by Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) — received a financial boost in the form of a $2.93 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense, mainly because so many soldiers suffer [...]
Transparent Soil Opens Window Into Source of Illnesses
September 27, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Root systems in plants are largely hidden to farmers and scientists. But now, European researchers have developed a synthetic polymer that creates transparent soil, allowing scientists to identify new ways of preventing food-borne illnesses. “There are so many things to discover in soil, and we don’t know yet what they are,” says theoretical biologist Lionel [...]
Senses Detect What Chemical Tests Can’t
September 26, 2012 By 1 Comment
When it comes to olive oil, it seems as though the nose and taste buds can do a better job evaluating quality than U.S. chemical tests. The University of California, Davis, conducted a study that found that some olive oils sold to the food industry were described as “lamp oil” or were diluted with cheaper [...]
Plastic Scaffold Used in Successful Artificial Trachea Implant
September 25, 2012 By 1 Comment
Plastic scaffolds have formed the foundation for new tracheas that were successfully transplanted into patients who lost theirs following car accidents. Nanofiber Solutions of Columbus, OH, designed and built the nanofiber laryngotracheal scaffolds to match the size of each patient’s natural larynx and trachea. Once the scaffold was built, the patients then needed human tissue [...]
“Stapling” of Non-Sticky Polymers Creates Strong Bond
September 24, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Some materials, such as silicone and Teflon, are designed to be non-sticky. But some products would be improved if other materials could “stick” to them. For example, try painting silicone. After a few hours, the paint peels off because the silicone is a low surface energy polymer that has extremely low adhesive qualities. Basically, the [...]
Chemical Test Could Spot Attempted Cheating
September 21, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Athletes who cheat by taking performance-enhancing drugs have ways to manipulate their urine samples so that those drugs are concealed. But now, thanks to research from Australian scientists, that drug abuse might be more easily detected. Many chemicals dropped into urine specimens can destroy or mask “drugs of interest” that give athletes who take them [...]
Plastic-Powered Plane Set for Test Flight
September 20, 2012 By 1 Comment
“Look! Up in the sky.” “It’s a bird.” “It’s a plane.” “Well, it’s a plastic-powered plane, making a test flight from Sydney to London.” That’s what representatives of the Irish company, Cynar Plc, could be saying in November when it plans to see how well the plane’s journey goes using its fuel made from waste [...]
Virginia Tech Student Wins Solar Electricity Award
September 19, 2012 By 1 Comment
Solar energy production has its barriers to being more widely used, but there are conditions in the nation that create opportunities to store solar energy in existing residential power networks, writes a doctoral candidate at Virginia Tech University. Reza Arghandeh of Blacksburg, VA, won the best student paper award at the 20th International Conference on Nuclear [...]
Bio-Refinery Makes Plastics From Coffee-Shop Products
September 18, 2012 By 1 Comment
A bio-refinery could turn waste from coffee and baked goods into plastics, laundry detergents, and other everyday consumer products. Chinese scientists have teamed up with the Starbucks restaurant chain on this recycling waste project, prompted by The Climate Group, an international nonprofit organization that promotes a carbon-free future. The parties involved are concerned about the [...]
Robot Made From Polymers Moves, Hides Like Octopus
September 17, 2012 By 2 Comments
Scientists at Harvard University have invented a flexible robot, using polymers, that mimics the motion — and even the camouflage — of an octopus. The inventors say the robot has several applications: from helping scientists understand how camouflage is used in nature, helping doctors plan complex surgeries, to acting as a visual marker to help [...]
