Materials & Manufacturing

Material scientists from ETH Zurich (the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich), who say that they were inspired by plant components like pine cones that respond to external stimuli, have developed a new means of producing composite materials from a variety of materials that adopt a pre-programmed...

At the 245th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, in New Orleans, scientists from the University of California, San Diego, described their advances in micromotor technology that, they say, could open the door to broad new medical uses.

Researchers say that a new type of soft material they have created by using a unique 3D printer connects thousands of water droplets, 50 microns in diameter each, encapsulated within lipid (fat) films, which can perform some of the functions of the cells inside our bodies. These printed “droplet networks,” they say...

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued draft recommendations to medical product manufacturers for providing consumers with more accurate information about products not made with natural rubber latex (NRL), which can cause sensitivity or allergy in users.

Ultrasound technology could soon be improved to produce high-quality, high-resolution images, thanks to the development of a new key material by a team of researchers in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Texas A&M University, College Station. The engineered material, known as a "metamaterial,"...

A physicist at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, invented a new material, a type of silicone rubber that is both rigid and fluid, called a “viscoelastic” solid, that can act like a memory foam, but with stretch and bounce. He foresees that it may have applications as a packaging tape, as a shoe insole,...

Researchers at the North Carolina State University, Raleigh, have successfully coated polymer implants with a bioactive film that, they say should improve the success rate of the implants, typically used in spinal surgeries. The polymer contained in these implants, called Polyetheretherketone...

Remoras attach themselves to larger marine animals for transportation, protection, and food but just how they attach and detach from hosts without appearing to harm them has inspired a team of researchers at the Georgia Tech Research Institute, Atlanta, to study the structure and tissue properties of...