COSMOS MAGAZINE

4 tech discoveries from January 2025

New chainmail-like polymer could be the future of armour

Credit: Mark Seniw, Center for Regenerative Nanomedicine, Northwestern University

Made of X-shaped monomers which interlock to form a sheet somewhat resembling chainmail, it's the first time a 2-dimensional, mechanically interlocked polymer has been created.

Credit: Mark Seniw, Center for Regenerative Nanomedicine, Northwestern University

This illustration shows how X-shaped monomers are interlinked to create the 2D mechanically interlocked polymer.

Flexible, recyclable,  3D-printed plastic

Flexible 3D-printed plastic. Credit: Sameer A. Khan/Fotobuddy

Researchers have developed a way to 3D-print a plastic which is cheap, recyclable, stretchable, and flexible.

Credit: Sameer A. Khan/Fotobuddy

The technique improves the plastic's properties after printing allowing it to be reused many times and even self-heal if the item gets damaged or broken.

Japanese student project leads to new superconductor discovery

Credit: Tokyo Metropolitan University. Lab

A new superconducting material has been discovered by researchers at Tokyo Metropolitan University in Japan.

The unconventional superconductor could enable high-temperature superconductivity for use in transport, quantum technologies, and power transmission.

Credit: Getty

Compact device could usher in next gen optical technologies

Credit: Junyin Zhang (EPFL).

The new device combines circuit designs to efficiently measure light.

The hybrid-integrated electro-optic frequency comb generator. More than 2000 comb lines covering 450nm spectrum can be generated within a footprint smaller than 1cm2.

Credit: Getty

Credit: Junyin Zhang (EPFL).