Materials
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Who’s the fool now?
Magnetic new role possible for a maligned material.
Fool’s gold could actually be valuable, but only if you do something that no-one (fool or otherwise) has done before....
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Attacking e-waste with ‘material microsurgery’
Innovative small-scale approach has big potential.
Australian researchers have reported early success with an innovative idea for recycling old electronic devices or e-...
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Self-heal like a squid
A new material inspired by natural protein.
US and German researchers have developed a self-healing material inspired by squid ring teeth protein. Yes, you read ...
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Is that the best you've got, angle grinder?
Engineers create a material they say can’t be cut.
Engineers claim to have created the first manufactured material that can’t be cut because it turns the force of a cut...
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Using wood to purify water
Chinese team takes steam generation up a notch.
Chinese scientists have developed a wood-based steam generator which, with the help of bacterial-produced nanomateria...
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Doing spiders out of a job
Researchers use bacteria to produce silk.
Spider silk has a lot going for it. It’s strong, very light, biodegradable and biocompatible, and has the potential t...
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Smile, we’re taking a good look at your teeth
Scientists now know a little more about decay.
Materials scientists in the US say they have cracked one of the secrets of tooth decay by identifying a small number ...
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Taking protective clothing up a notch
Playing with fibres may offer new performance levels.
US researchers are developing a nanofibre they believe could revolutionise safety gear for soldiers, emergency servic...
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Super-strong surgical tape does come off
Researchers tweak their impressive adhesive.
Last year, as we reported in Cosmos, US engineers unveiled a double-sided adhesive that could quickly and firmly stic...
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How to mop up excess carbon dioxide
Australians claim record with a super sponge.
Australian researchers say they have raised the bar for carbon dioxide capture and storage with a technology that res...
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A possible new way to deliver clean water
Ultrathin nanosheets filter out lead and mercury.
Australian and Chinese researchers have created an ultrathin sieve membrane from 2D nanosheets they say can filter po...
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Interactive screens from simple principles
Lee Constable looks at how smartphones became smart.
This is an excerpt from a feature article in the latest edition of Cosmos magazine. The most commonly used touchsc...