Collaborate Disseminate
When treating patients for certain conditions – including COVID-19 – it’s important to monitor their blood oxygen levels. A new sub-dermal photosensitive sensor provides a new means of doing so, plus it could one day be used to measure other blood-born… Continue reading Light-sensitive “tattoo” sensor could measure substances in the blood
An experimental new material could help rehabilitate the injured and allow the nonspeaking to “speak,” among other potential uses. It’s also highly elastic, electrically conductive and self-healing – and it’s known as CareGum.Continue ReadingCategory: … Continue reading “CareGum” could boost rehabilitative tech and nonverbal communications
Adhesives that hold strong in wet environments are elusive, but could be useful for underwater repairs or healing in the body. Researchers have now developed a new type of adhesive hydrogel that combines the underwater stickiness of mussels with the st… Continue reading New adhesive boasts stickiness of mussels and strength of spider silk
Spider silk is one of nature’s most impressive materials, exhibiting impressive strength and toughness. Now, researchers at Washington University in St. Louis claim to have created an artificial version that can outperform some natural spider silks.Con… Continue reading Synthetic spider silk stronger and tougher than the real thing
By mimicking the self-assembling microstructures that give spider silk its incredible strength, scientists at the University of Cambridge have produced a plant-based film with the strength of common single-use plastics, offering a “vegan” eco-friendly … Continue reading “Vegan spider silk” offers a plant-based replacement for common plastic
As useful a material as leather is, growing it on the backs of cows isn’t the most environmentally friendly way to get it. Now, engineers at Tufts University have created a new leather-like material out of silk, which can be 3D printed into shape and e… Continue reading Scientists turn silk into leather that’s 3D printable and recyclable
Along with its use in clothing, silk also shows promise for use in products ranging from surgical sutures to seed coverings. Scientists have recently devised a method of making the material stronger, by altering the diet of silkworms.Continue ReadingCa… Continue reading Special silkworm diet results in stronger silk
Companies spend thousands developing a project for the market, hoping their investment will return big. Investing like this happens every day and won’t shock anyone. What may surprise you is someone who spends more than a decade and thousands of their own dollars to make an open-source version of a …read more
Continue reading Spider Silk, Spider Silk, Made Using a Strain of Yeast
Nanofibers have found use in numerous applications, ranging from lightweight car parts to high-strength materials. Now, thanks to a new understanding of a certain group of spiders, they may soon be easier to work with.Continue ReadingCategory: Material… Continue reading Spiders inspire improved nanofiber-handling tech
Some of the creepy-crawlers under our feet, flitting through the air, and waiting on silk webs, incorporate metals into their rigid body parts and make themselves harder. Like Mega Man, they absorb the metals to improve themselves. In addition to making their bodies harder, silk-producing creatures like worms and spiders can spin webs with augmented properties. These silks can be conductive, insulating, or stronger depending on the doping elements.
At Italy’s University of Trento, they are pushing the limits and dosing spiders with single-wall carbon nanotubes and graphene. The carbon is suspended in water and sprayed into the spider’s habitat. …read more