#Medical device Breakthrough: UV LIGHT enabled catheter fixes holes in the heart without invasive surgery Researchers from Boston Children Hospital, the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard university,
This degeneration is caused by the destruction of the cones and cells in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE),
Through the use of this new ink, more versatile devices on paper or plastic can be made at a rate of 300 per minute, at a very low cost.
If the number of zinc ions increases following transient severe brain damage, these ions dock in greater numbers onto a switch, the so-called metal-regulatory transcription factor 1 (MTF1.
Researchers found that sections of metal can be made to either promote bubbling (the two rectangles at the edges)
simply by switching the polarity of voltages applied to the metal. Image courtesy of the researchersthe system
or repelled by, a metal surface by changing the polarity of the voltage applied to the metal.
in turn, allows control over the rate of heat transfer between the metal and the liquid.
Unlike small chemical tablets that dissolve in water and leave a chlorine aftertaste, Madidrop is made of a continuously reusable ceramic that is simply placed in a water vessel,
Biological Crystallography and Chemical engineering Science. The chemistry of sequestering works this way: The enzyme, carbonic anhydrase, catalyzes a chemical reaction between carbon dioxide and water.
made of a silicon-like material called an elastomer, to easily remove the sensors, made of gold and chromium, from the silicon wafer.
In this stage a reflective metal layer ends up being on the bottom. In this structure coming light is blocked not by any metal layers or other materials.
and then determined the structure employing synchrotron protein crystallography at the Advanced Photon Source, a DOE Office of Science User Facility (both at Argonne).
The flexible, carbon nanotubeaced polymer detects pressure and translates the sensation into pulses of electricity that can be interpreted by the mammalian nervous system,
Thermoelectric graphene composite, with graphene fragments ringed in the 2 m-scale image Internal combustion engines lose about 70 per cent of the energy from their fuel as heat,
and Robert Freer has found that making it into a composite with grapheme could be advantageous.?
Other graphene-related automotive research at Manchester includes using the material in composites for lightweight bodywork
Previously, Salahuddin and his colleagues had discovered that passing a current through the rare metal tantalum creates polarity in magnets without an external magnetic field.
The results, published in the journal Bioinspiration and Biomimetics, describe the array as consisting of five superelastic wires made from nitinol, an alloy of nickel and titanium.
The paper, tretch-Triggered Drug Delivery from Wearable Elastomers Containing Therapeutic Depots, is published online in the journal ACS Nano.
#K scientists create magnetism in nonmagnetic metals Scientists at Leeds University have discovered a method to create magnetism in metals that aren naturally magnetic,
opening up the possibility of using a range of abundant metals for magnetic applications. The study, published in the journal Nature, details a way of altering the quantum interactions of matter
However, only three metals iron cobalt and nickel-are naturally ferromagnetic, meaning they remain magnetic in the absence of a field. aving such a small variety of magnetic materials limits our ability to tailor magnetic systems to the needs of applications without using very rare
or toxic materials, said Tim Moorsom from the School of Physics & Astronomy at Leeds University,
co-lead author on the paper. aving to build devices with only the three magnetic metals naturally available to us is rather like trying to build a skyscraper using only wrought iron.
and make steel? In the new study, the researchers have shown how to alter the behaviour of nonmagnetic materials by removing some electrons using an interface coated with a thin layer of the carbon molecule C60,
which is also known as a uckyball The movement of electrons between the metal and the molecules allows the nonmagnetic material to overcome the Stoner Criterion
and antifouling Researchers from the Harvard John A. Paulson School of engineering and Applied sciences (SEAS) have developed a new coating for steel,
The coating is applied using an electrochemical technique that deposits an ultrathin film of tungsten oxide islands on to the steel.
and the steel retains both its durability and its antifouling properties. During testing, the team scratched the material with stainless steel tweezers, screwdrivers, diamond-tipped scribers
and pummeled it with hundreds of thousands of hard, heavy beads. A variety of liquids was applied then to the material to test its repellency,
with the tungsten oxide actually making the steel stronger than steel without the coating. It is claimed the material could have a wide range of applications,
the researchers designed lenses no larger than the head of a pin and embedded them within flexible plastic.
They then seeped a polymer between the silicon nanowire pillars. After the plastic support solidified, they etched away the silicon backing, leaving bull-eye patterned black silicon embedded in supple plastic.
This approach is said to have given their lenses unprecedented crisp focusing capabilities plus the flexibility that enables them to capture a large field of view.
Aluminium is also a cheaper metal than lithium. p
#Streaming helps digital music match global physical sales Fuelled by the popularity of streaming, digital music has matched
and a rigid plastic protector to cover body parts. hen you put on the sportswear, you are constrained automatically, some more than others.
the thread is coated in silicone which then solidifies. When the desired shape is completed, the tray at the bottom of the machine is slid out and the mesh
which in the early testing is silicone. As there is one continuous piece of thread which is used through the whole structure,
and cut down on the number of materials used. retty much everyone sports companies has a neoprene on the inside a nice soft stretchy material on the inside then layers of foam
the researchers describe how they used ultrasound to move tiny polystyrene beads measuring only 3mm across
#Boffins have made optical transistors that can reach 4 TERAHERTZ Aluminum-doped zinc oxide is the key to building faster, optical chips, according to researchers at Purdue University, Indiana.
The use of aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) opens up the opportunity for both. It is aimed very much at optical switching rather than building processors,
*Expanded polystyrene particles ranging from 0. 6 to 3. 1m diameter are levitated above single-sided arrays.
The dark red polymer material is made using limonene, a compound found in orange peels, and sulphur. It turns yellow
The researchers found that the material can also remove other toxic metals from water and it safely stores the pollutants until it can be removed.
Hybrid Silica Changing Sol-Gel Supercapacitors A new material made from a common fatty acid, octylphosphonic acid,
"Our flagship product, the BCN3D Sigma, works very well with plastic, "but"chocolate is a difficult one as it has to keep a certain temperature".
and his collaborators systematically evaluated the size-dependent biological profiles of three monodisperse drug-silica nanoconjugates at 20 50 and 200 nm.
For the Nature study Hone's team placed thin flakes of Mos2 on flexible plastic substrates
In fact Mos2 is just one of a group of 2d semiconducting materials known as transition metal dichalcogenides all of
and his colleagues 2d materials can be stretched much farther than conventional materials particularly traditional ceramic piezoelectrics
As a result of our work designers can now specify location specific crystal structure orientations in a part. Other contributors to the research are ORNL's Mike Kirka and Hassina Bilheux University of California Berkeley's Anton Tremsin and Texas A&m University's William Sames.
At the core of this development is wide bandgap material made of silicon carbide with qualities superior to standard semiconductor materials.
The research group's first prototype a liquid-cooled all-silicon carbide traction drive inverter features 50 percent printed parts.
The synthetic coatings are called often polymer brushes because of their bristlelike appearance when attached to the particle surface.
To create the biological equivalent of a polymer brush the researchers turned to neurofilaments pipe cleaner-shaped proteins found in nerve cells.
By acting as tiny cylindrical polymer brushes neurofilaments collectively assemble into a structural network that helps keep one end of the nerve cell propped open
and turned it into a polymer brush by cloning a portion of a gene that encodes one of the neurofilament bristles re-engineering it such that we could attach the resulting protein to surfaces in a precise and oriented way
Historically platinum and its alloys have frequently been used as anodic and cathodic catalysts in fuel cells
The explanation for the very high efficiency is the unique morphology of the alloy It is neither a homogeneous alloy nor a fully segregated two-phase system but rather something in between.
By advanced experimental and theoretical investigations the researchers show that the alloy is composed of metallic Pd-islands embedded in the Pd-W alloy.
The DNASE an enzyme that would normally cut up the DNA cocoon is coated in a thin polymer that traps the DNASE like a sword in a sheath.
Once inside the cancer cell the cell acidic environment destroys the polymer sheath containing the DNASE.
A typical lithium-ion battery consists of two tightly packed electrodes--a carbon anode and a lithium metal-oxide cathode--with an ultrathin polymer separator in between.
Manufacturing defects such as particles of metal and dust can pierce the separator and trigger shorting as Sony discovered in 2006.
and his colleagues applied a nanolayer of copper onto one side of a polymer separator creating a novel third electrode halfway between the anode and the cathode.
The copper coating on the polymer separator is only 50 nanometers thick about 500 times thinner than the separator itself said Wu a postdoctoral fellow in the Cui group.
The coated separator is quite flexible and porous like a conventional polymer separator so it has negligible effect on the flow of lithium ions between the cathode and the anode.
To decorate the bottles manufacturers grind these special glasses together with inorganic pigments print them as pastes on the base glass and melt them on.
The basis of these novel decorative paints is a glass that consists mainly of zinc oxide.
Zinc oxide ensures that this glass already melts below 650 degrees Celsius. It therefore takes over the task that previously fell to the lead oxide.
But the results should apply to many different metals says Li senior author of the paper and the BEA Professor of Nuclear Science and Engineering.
By contrast if the droplets were to melt to a liquid state the orderliness of the crystal structure would be eliminated entirely--like a wall tumbling into a heap of bricks.
The phenomenon of plasticity by interfacial diffusion was proposed first by Robert L. Coble a professor of ceramic engineering at MIT
For example in circuits where electrical contacts need to withstand rotational reconfiguration particles designed to maximize this effect might prove useful using noble metals
The coating repelled blood from more than 20 medically relevant substrates the team tested--made of plastic to glass
and metal--and also suppressed biofilm formation in a study reported in Nature Biotechnology. But that's not All the team implanted medical-grade tubing
and genetic diseases by combining the chemical specificity of the DNA with the signal readout of the metal.
#Unusual skin cancer linked to chronic allergy from metal orthopedic implant In rare cases patients with allergies to metals develop persistent skin rashes after metal devices are implanted near the skin.
Metal alloys help make orthopedic implants stronger and more durable. But people with sensitivity to these metals which include nickel cobalt
and chromium can develop chronic inflammation that promotes the development of skin cancers report researchers at Washington University School of medicine
but for some patients with sensitivity to metals they may be the best option. Similar to metal implants some dental restoration materials and tattoo inks contain substances associated with allergic reactions and cancers on the skin or in the mouth.
and in particular metals such as gold. Localized surface plasmons of metal nanostructures result in unique optical properties with characteristics that depend upon the metal composition,
An important material used in their construction is electrical steel. Researchers have found a way to improve the performance of electrical steel
and manufacture it more efficiently using an optimized laser process. Transformers convert the standard voltage from the wall outlet into the lower voltages required by electronic devices.
To minimize the energy loss associated with this process special types of iron-silicon alloy known as electrical steel are used to make the core.
In their native state these alloys have a grainoriented structure which determines their magnetic properties.
which each crystal or grain is arranged in a regular periodic order. By heating selected areas of the material it is possible to reduce the size of the domains with the same magnetic orientation
which in turn alters the magnetic structure of the steel. This results in a lower heat development and thus reduces the material's hysteresis loss says Dr. Andreas Wetzig who heads the laser ablation
While the steel sheet measuring around one meter in width moves forward at a rate of more than 100 meters per minute a focused laser beam travels at very high speed (approximately 200 meters per second) from side to side
In a further effort to reduce hysteresis loss in electrical steel the researchers have started recently working with a new type of solid-state laser:
that of expanding the applications of their technology to electrical steel for engine components. However unlike transformer steel these materials do not have oriented a grain structure
and therefore possess different magnetic properties. This means that we cannot transfer our process one-to-one without modification explains Wetzig.
The benefits of laser processing in the case of non-grain-oriented electrical steel vary according to the working point of the specific engine or motor.
#Analyzing gold and steel--rapidly, precisely Optical emission spectrometers are used widely in the steel industry but the instruments currently employed are relatively large and bulky.
Jewelers in India are required by law to test the purity of gold using an optical emission spectrometer that analyzes the composition of the metal on the basis of the emitted light spectrum.
But goldsmiths are not the only users of these instruments the tools are more frequently found in steel foundries
and car factories where they help engineers to determine the characteristics of steel materials analyze their chemical composition
In order to analyze a piece of steel for example it has to generate sparks at regular intervals.
which it is possible to derive information on the composition of the steel sample. Experts refer to this result as a space-resolved measurement.
used X-ray crystallography to capture a three-dimensional structure of one of the conformations revealed in the Science paper.
"The antibodies used in the crystallography study are ones that we observed to stop the dance of the HIV envelope proteins,
and X-ray crystallography--can work hand in hand to help scientists describe the functions of molecules from the perspective motion,
and abetted by gelatinous sticky polymers produced by seaweed reports a research team headed by a UC Davis veterinary infectious-disease expert.
Using the parasite Toxoplasma gondii as a model they showed how these sticky polymers increase the chance that disease-causing organisms would be picked up by marine snails
Findings from the new study will be published Oct 8 in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B. Discovering the role that these invisible polymers play in disease transmission in the ocean is a tremendous step forward in helping us better understand
In laboratory tests the researchers discovered that the gelatinous polymers excreted by seaweed act in two ways to provide an environment conducive to transmission of infectious diseases.
First the polymers act like glue binding together waterborne organic material into larger particles in
Secondly the polymers help to form sticky biofilms which can trap the T. gondii egg cells and coat kelp on which marine snails graze.
#How metallic alloys reorganize during microscale laser melting processes: Elements of successful connections High-power lasers that can selectively cut
Researchers investigating the feasibility of 3d printed implant materials often turn to magnesium-aluminum (Mg-Al) alloys
Recently, the A*STAR team demonstrated that laser surface melting of these alloys enhances their corrosion resistance as a result of a notable enhancement in the surface concentration of aluminum.
however, to make the link between the initial alloy composition and the final product after laser processing,
which molten alloy elements are ejected into the laser plume. They positioned a thin silicon substrate perpendicular to a Mg-Al-based alloy a few millimeters from the laser firing point.
Laser pulses then generated a plume that deposited onto the silicon surface. When the researchers used a scanning electron microscope (SEM) to examine the deposits,
Zeng said the prototype lab-on-a-chip is made of a widely used silicone rubber called polydimethylsiloxane and uses a technique called on-chip immunoisolation.
and polyurethane paint to melt ice on sensitive military radar domes, which need to be kept clear of ice to keep them at peak performance.
but can be used to coat glass and plastic as well as radar domes and antennas. This scanning electron microscope image shows a closeup of the nanoribbon network in Rice university's high-density graphene nanoribbon film.
the nanoribbons were mixed with polyurethane, but testing showed the graphene nanoribbons themselves formed an active network when applied directly to a surface.
They were coated subsequently with a thin layer of polyurethane for protection. Samples were spread onto glass slides that were iced then.
#Researchers develop harder ceramic for armor windows The Department of defense needs materials for armor windows that provide essential protection for both personnel
With the highest reported hardness for spinel NRL's nanocrystalline spinel demonstrates that the hardness of transparent ceramics can be increased simply by reducing the grain size to 28 nanometers.
Sintering is a common method used to create large ceramic and metal components from powders.
and reposition nanoparticles very close to each other to help eliminate porosity in the sintered ceramic. NRL researchers then can exploit the increased surface potential of nanoparticles for surface energy-driven densification without coarsening.
when you make a ceramic material nanocrystalline. However in their work the NRL researchers have shown that the fracture resistance does not change suggesting that nanocrystalline ceramics can have an equivalent toughness to microcrystalline ceramics
which is important for high window lifetimes. The Hall-Petch relationship has been used to describe the phenomenon where a material's strength
However prior experimental work had shown a breakdown in this relationship (where hardness starts reducing with decreasing grain size) for certain ceramics at 130 nanometers.
#New Technique Increases Nanofiber Production Rate Fourfold Nanofibers polymer filaments only a couple of hundred nanometers in diameter have a huge range of potential applications, from solar cells
In the first, a polymer solution is pumped through a small nozzle, and then a strong electric field stretches it out.
The cones are dipped in a polymer solution, and the electric field causes the solution to travel to the top of the cones,
and a dissolved polymer. When an electrode is mounted opposite the sawteeth and a voltage applied between them,
the water-ethanol mixture streams upward, dragging chains of polymer with it. The water and ethanol quickly dissolve, leaving a tangle of polymer filaments opposite each emitter, on the electrode.
The researchers were able to pack 225 emitters, several millimeters long, on a square chip about 35 millimeters on a side.
an ion crystal essentially, a grid of charged atoms in order to study friction effects, atom by atom.
To generate the ion crystal, the group used light to ionize, or charge, neutral ytterbium atoms emerging from a small heated oven,
and pull the ion crystal across the lattice, as well as to stretch and squeeze the ion crystal,
much like an accordion, altering the spacing between its atoms. An earthquake and a caterpillarin general, the researchers found that
when atoms in the ion crystal were spaced regularly, at intervals that matched the spacing of the optical lattice, the two surfaces experienced maximum friction,
when the ion crystal as a whole is dragged across the optical lattice, the atoms first tend to stick in the lattice troughs,
If enough force is applied, the ion crystal suddenly slips, as the atoms collectively jump to the next trough. t like an earthquake,
and squeeze the ion crystal to manipulate the arrangement of atoms, and discovered that if the atom spacing is mismatched from that of the optical lattice,
the crystal tends not to stick then suddenly slip, but to move fluidly across the optical lattice,
as the ion crystal is pulled across the optical lattice, one atom may slide down a peak a bit,
creating a stronger artificial muscle that they then placed inside a floating plastic case topped with shutters.
speculating that an improved version with stickier plastic tape and more spores could potentially generate even more power per unit area than a wind farm.
says Yet-Ming Chiang, the Kyocera Professor of Ceramics at MIT and a cofounder of 24m (and previously a cofounder of battery company A123).
which interact with each other within the silica fiber optic cables. The researchers note that this approach could be used in systems with far more communication channels.
Quantum dots, a type of nanocrystals discovered in the early 1980s, are made by combining metals such as lead
There is currently a big push to make lower-cost solar cells using plastics rather than silicon,
The two components that make the UCLA-developed system work are a polymer donor and a nanoscale fullerene acceptor.
The polymer donor absorbs sunlight and passes electrons to the fullerene acceptor; the process generates electrical energy.
The plastic materials, called organic photovoltaics, are organized typically like a plate of cooked pasta a disorganized mass of long, skinny polymer paghettiwith random fullerene eatballs.
because the electrons sometimes hop back to the polymer spaghetti and are lost. The UCLA technology arranges the elements more neatly like small bundles of uncooked spaghetti with precisely placed meatballs.
The fullerenes inside the structure take electrons from the polymers and toss them to the outside fullerene
which can effectively keep the electrons away from the polymer for weeks. hen the charges never come back together,
Brandl had synthesized previously polymers that could be cleaved apart by exposure to UV LIGHT. But he and Bertrand came to question their suitability for drug delivery,
because we saw that the particles aggregate once you irradiate them with UV LIGHT. trap for ater-fearingpollutionthe researchers synthesized polymers from polyethylene glycol,
and polylactic acid, a biodegradable plastic used in compostable cups and glassware. Nanoparticles made from these polymers have a hydrophobic core and a hydrophilic shell.
Due to molecular-scale forces in a solution hydrophobic pollutant molecules move toward the hydrophobic nanoparticles,
In that case, both the plastic and the oil-based sauce are hydrophobic and interact together.
hormone-disrupting chemicals used to soften plastics, from wastewater; BPA, another endocrine-disrupting synthetic compound widely used in plastic bottles and other resinous consumer goods, from thermal printing paper samples;
and the polymers are biodegradable, minimizing the risks of leaving toxic secondary products to persist in,
from environmental remediation to medical analysis. The polymers are synthesized at room temperature, and don need to be prepared specially to target specific compounds;
a renewable fermentation process that seeks to act as a partial replacement for the an oil-based processes that goes into making synthetic rubber.
a technology that replaces the oil-based feedstock for part of the synthetic rubber-making process with renewable biomass.
For an idea of the impact, consider that approximately 50 percent of consumer tires are made from polymers
The closest printer to me, for example, is a Prusa Mendel I2 that uses#ABS Plastic in numerous colors.
And unlike the Miseq, both the PGM and 454 have problems with accuracy concerning homopolymers,
electric scooters and more Can this polystyrene pedal-powered plane break world records? Solar group to World bank:
works with any material except for metal, meaning almost any surface at home or in a business space could be designed to deliver power.
The new plastic is made from mushrooms Poking around in my mom s attic recently, I was reminded that I still have the shipping box from my Macintosh SE,
But the equally colossal pieces of Styrofoam that protected the computer in shipping more than two decades ago are gone long,
a patent-pending technology that uses a growing organism and byproducts from food production (oat hulls from New york, cotton hulls from Texas and rice hulls from Arkansas) to create a strong composite material.
You say Styrofoam is one of the biggest culprits in our landfills, taking up 25 percent of the space.
We talk about Styrofoam because of how it s used, and that s in a highly disposable way.
You have this polymer that s made from carcinogenic compounds like benzene and it will last up to 10,000 years.
We have a plastic that s alive a living polymer. Our vision is to replace plastics where ever they don t make sense
which could even be your computer or TV. Steelcase one of the largest office furniture makers in the world--they ve been really happy with Ecocradle,
It's like a conventional plastic, but it s alive. It has a five-day growth period.
There s a lot of places where we can just replace Styrofoam. That s our first-generation technology.
We see using it for all sorts of plastic material like the hard plastic around your TV.
Overtext Web Module V3.0 Alpha
Copyright Semantic-Knowledge, 1994-2011