Tag: Material

Outgrown sustainable children’s shoes dissolve when cooked. A short hairstyle can be transformed with environmentally-friendly extensions. But making bespoke clothing more sustainable presents a challenge. Enter an interdisciplinary US-based research team and its revolutionary new knit-dress. A three-dimensional template is created using high-tech yarns and computerised knitting. Next, a programmable robotic arm with a hairdryer-like extension shapes the dress...

Future high-efficiency computer chips could be made using honey; while supercapacitors could lower CO2 levels. To reduce electronic waste, an Austrian science team has researched materials for printed circuit boards and found… mushrooms. The dried skin of ganoderma fungus, for example, is not only thin and flexible but also acts as a good insulator and can withstand temperatures of...

Fish remains are a good source of bioplastics. Jellyfish, meanwhile, could soon be an unlikely ally for police officers up and down the country. All thanks to Chinese-British researchers who have discovered that a fluorescent protein contained in the slimy sea-dwellers could be a big help at crime scenes. The protein binds with negatively-charged molecules in the grease and...

Pullovers from oyster shells are no sailor’s yarn. Mussels can also be a useful medical aid as a South Korean research team has proved with its biodegradable adhesive patch. To make it, they combined sticky proteins from the shellfish with two polymers: polyacryl and sodium salt. When dry, the patch is not adhesive. Instead, its adhesive effect comes into...

Some fish perceive their surroundings in the dark. Now, a Chinese-South Korean research team has developed a sensor that can recognise nearby objects without touching them. Key to the enterprise is a composite film made from two highly conductive materials. A polymer based on silicon (polydimethylsiloxane) and a few organic macromolecules (graphitic carbon nitride), which are mixed and then...

Efforts are underway to remove CO2 from seawater. Shipping is currently responsible for around 3% of greenhouse gas emissions - a figure that is on the rise. For our planet every reduction counts. Which explains why a female-led startup from London has developed a system that removes up to 95% of the carbon dioxide generated by a ship’s engine....

The right scaffold can improve deteriorating eyesight. If a heart valve stops working, it’s usually replaced. One made from animal tissue might only last a decade. Metal varieties require patients to take medication all their lives. But, according to an English research team, there is another way. Banking on the body’s powers of regeneration, the team has developed a...

Sustainable food can be conjured out of thin air. Now a Hamburg-based startup has used CO2 to manufacture oil alternatives. CO2 is placed in a bioreactor with different bacteria and converted into oil. Using yeast makes the oil suitable for cosmetic or cleaning products; oxyhydrogen bacteria, meanwhile, means it can be used for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), lubricant or...