Korean scientists have developed a sensor built from polymer nanostructures that can detect extremely minute concentrations of nerve gas, is less expensive than current models, lightweight, wearable, and can be used continuously. Jyongsik Jang, a polymer scientist at Seoul National Laboratory, says the sensor can detect nerve gas at concentrations as low as 10 parts [...]
Guidelines Set to Reduce Resin Supply Problems
May 9, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Automobile production will not lag, despite a disruption in the supply of an important polyamide, thanks to interim guidelines that will provide a method to analyze and test replacement materials. The guidelines were developed by more than 30 companies, representing links in the supply chain of the polyamide called nylon 12, as well as automakers [...]
Blood Type Identified Quickly on Paper
May 1, 2012 By Leave a Comment
For those who need to learn a person’s blood type quickly, there’s a new device that will literally spell it out for them on paper. The blood types are common knowledge: A+, AB-, O+, etc. As Bethany Halford writes in Chemical & Engineering News, Australian researchers have invented a method that makes these letters and [...]
Scientists Create Plastic Solar Cell
April 27, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Scientists have discovered a method using polymers that could allow improved solar cells to be manufactured more cheaply and with more flexibility. Manufacturers already print or roll material onto surfaces to produce an electronically functional device, writes Jennifer Hicks in Forbes. This process is used to make organic solar cells and organic light-emitting diodes that [...]
Mussel-Inspired Adhesive Has Many Useful Properties
April 24, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Inspired by mussels’ ability to adhere to many surfaces underwater, German researchers have developed a group of adhesives that are waterproof, can bind themselves together, react with surfaces, degrade with light, and are biocompatible. The materials have applications in medicine, reports Azom.com. They could be used for removable hydrogel pads that help regenerate skin or [...]
Floating Plastics Help Create Alternative Fuel
April 20, 2012 By Leave a Comment
NASA is developing a technology that uses large arrays of plastic tubes that float in seawater and contain algae that can be converted into fuel. The floating algae cultivation system, called Offshore Membrane Enclosure for Growing Algae (OMEGA), is designed to grow freshwater algae in municipal wastewater using photobioreactors, or flexible plastic tubes. NASA has [...]
Demand Grows for Conductive Polymers
April 16, 2012 By Leave a Comment
The market for conductive polymers is expected to grow by almost 11% a year until 2017, reaching a market of $1.6 billion, according to a market research company. The growing demand for high-performance, lightweight, and inexpensive products is driving the growth and potential for conductive polymers, reports Virtual-Strategy Magazine. Their dimensional stability, flexibility, and high [...]
Egg Shells Recycled as Plastics
April 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment
It is said that to make an omelet, you must first break an egg. Perhaps now, thanks to research at the University of Leicester in England, after you’ve made the omelet you can use the leftover egg shell to increase the amount of recyclable plastic. Scientists at the university are using the proteins in egg [...]
New Zealand Church Will Be Made of Paper and Plastic
December 30, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Sometimes the best choice is not between paper or plastic, but for both paper and plastic. In February, an earthquake in New Zealand destroyed the spire and top half of the tower and caused structural damage to the Christchurch Cathedral. Construction of a temporary paper-and-plastic structure will begin in January. Tokyo-based Shingeru Ban Architects designed [...]
Tox21 Robot Goes to Work
December 27, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Earlier this year, a new robot was installed at the National Institutes of Health’s Genomics Center in Rockville, Maryland. This month, it started testing chemicals in a first-of-its-kind library — including failed pharmaceuticals — for potential toxicity. Rebecca Trager reports for Chemistry World: [The Tox21] robotic screening system jointly initiated by three key US health [...]
