(Natural News) As part of a study on new polymers, researchers have successfully developed a novel self-healing material — a feat considered to be a major breakthrough in the field of materials synthesis. The material, a polymer with incredible stretching, vibration suppression and self-healing properties, was developed by a team of scientists from Oak Ridge National […]

(Natural News) A recent breakthrough in engineering and robotics just might blur the line between man and machine. Researchers from Linköping University in Sweden have successfully developed and created artificial muscles that run on glucose and oxygen — just like their organic counterparts. According to the researchers, they wanted to develop artificial muscles, which, instead of […]

(Natural News) Our planet is drowning in plastic and the pollution it causes. This once useful material is now literally everywhere, surrounding us at work, in our homes, at school and at parks, lakes and beaches. Nobody could have predicted when Leo Baekeland created the world’s first fully synthetic resin-based plastic product back in 1907 […]

(Natural News) German researchers took cues from bones when developing their new open-cell metal foams. Not only are the new materials incredibly light, they also have the strength to withstand the impact of vehicular accidents and even an explosion. The Saarland University team applied their coating process to a lattice substrate of aluminum or polymer […]

(Natural News) Polyolefin makes a considerable chunk of the millions of tons of plastic that end up each year in the oceans as plastic trash. Fortunately, Indiana-based researchers have developed a new chemical technique that could turn the plastic pollutant into clean fuels and other valuable products. The conversion technique came from the laboratories of Purdue University. A joint work of professors, graduate students, […]

(Natural News) Have you ever wondered why the skin of earthworms are always free of dirt despite living in soil? Germany-based researchers explained that the worms are coated in a layer of lubricant that repels dirt from their skin. Furthermore, they have copied this natural self-lubricating ability in an artificial polymer. The new material is designed to generate […]

(Natural News) Airborne carbon can one day serve as a resource to repair damage, maintain structural integrity, or even build entirely new parts. An article in Nanowerks reported the development of a polymer that can absorb carbon dioxide and make use of the resource to improve or expand itself. The new material is similar to […]

(Natural News) If you are getting rid of your old contact lenses, put them in the trash instead of flushing them out of sight. Discarded lenses in wastewater might be raising the amount of toxic microplastics that contaminate waterways and aquatic life, an article in Science Daily stated. Nothing lasts forever. This is especially true […]

(Natural News) Researchers from The University of Warwick in the United Kingdom have reportedly developed a breakthrough new technology that allows for hundreds of varieties of anti-microbial polymers, potentially capable of killing drug-resistant “superbugs,” to be both tested and produced using simple light. Using the facilities and resources within the school’s Department of Chemistry, the […]

(Natural News) One of the ways to solve the problem of plastic pollution is to come up with biodegradable alternatives that are made from bio-renewable resources using clean processes. Such products are usually more expensive and difficult to manufacture than petroleum-based plastics. Colorado-based researchers announced that they found a way to produce one bacterial polymer […]