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Research from North Carolina State University will allow the development of energy-efficient LED devices that use ultraviolet (UV) light to kill pathogens such as bacteria and viruses. The technology has a wide array of applications ranging from drinking-water treatment to sterilizing surgical tools.
“UV treatment utilizing LEDs would be more cost-effective, energy efficient and longer lasting,” says Dr. Ramón Collazo, an assistant professor of materials science and engineering at NC State and lead author of a paper describing the research. “Our work would also allow for the development of robust and portable water-treatment technologies for use in developing countries.”
LEDs utilize aluminum nitride (AlN) as a semiconductor, because the material can handle a lot of power and create ... more 
Biosensor warns of toxicity in real time, says TAU researcher
From man-made toxic chemicals such as industrial by-products to poisons that occur naturally, a water or food supply can be easily contaminated. And for every level of toxic material ingested, there is some level of bodily response, ranging from minor illness to painful certain death.
Biosensors have long been used to safeguard against exposure to toxic chemicals. Food tasters employed by the ancients acted as early versions of biosensors, determining if a meal had been poisoned. More modern examples ... more
New approach is a promising first step toward the development of tiny devices that harvest electrical energy from everyday tasks
Imagine charging your phone as you walk, thanks to a paper-thin generator embedded in the sole of your shoe. This futuristic scenario is now a little closer to reality. Scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have developed a way to generate power using harmless viruses that convert mechanical energy into electricity.
The scientists tested their approach by creating a generator that produces enough current to operate a small liquid ... more
A carbon nanotube sponge that can soak up oil in water with unparalleled efficiency has been developed with help from computational simulations performed at the Department of Energy's (DOE's) Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Carbon nanotubes, which consist of atom-thick sheets of carbon rolled into cylinders, have captured scientific attention in recent decades because of their high strength, potential high conductivity and light weight. But producing nanotubes in bulk for specialized applications was often limited by difficulties in controlling the growth process as well as dispersing and sorting the produced nanotubes.
ORNL's Bobby Sumpter was part of a multi-institutional research team that set out to grow ... more
There are more than 5 sides to this story: In metallic glasses, researchers find a few new atomic structures
Drawing on powerful computational tools and a state-of-the-art scanning transmission electron microscope, a team of University of Wisconsin-Madison and Iowa State University materials science and engineering researchers has discovered a new nanometer-scale atomic structure in solid metallic materials known as metallic glasses.
Published May 11 in the journal Physical Review Letters, the findings fill a gap in researchers' understanding of this atomic structure. This understanding ultimately ... more
People walking normally, women tottering in high heels and ostriches strutting all exert the same forces on the ground despite very differently-shaped feet, according to research funded by the Wellcome Trust and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council.
The finding suggests that prosthetic lower limbs and robots' legs could be made more efficient by making them less human-like and more like the prosthetics used by 'Blade Runner' Oscar Pistorius.
Walking involves a repeated process referred to by scientists as 'crash, vault, push' – landing ('crashing') on the heel, vaulting over the stationary leg and then pushing off with the toes. This is the most economical way of walking and, as research published today ... more
The team of Professor Keon Jae Lee from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, KAIST, has developed new forms of low cost, large-area nanogenerator technology using the piezoelectric ceramic nanoparticles.
Piezoelectric effects-based nanogenerator technology that converts existing sources of nonpolluting energies, such as vibrational and mechanical energy from the nature of wind and waves, into infinite electrical energy is drawing immense interest in the next-generation energy harvesting technology. However, previous nanogenerator technologies have limitations such as complicated process, high-cost, and size-related restrictions.
Recently, Professor Lee's research team has developed a nanocomposite ... more
A doorknob that knows whether to lock or unlock based on how it is grasped, a smartphone that silences itself if the user holds a finger to her lips and a chair that adjusts room lighting based on recognizing if a user is reclining or leaning forward are among the many possible applications of Touché, a new sensing technique developed by a team at Disney Research, Pittsburgh, and Carnegie Mellon University.
Touché is a form of capacitive touch sensing, the same principle underlying the types of touchscreens used in most smartphones. But instead of sensing electrical signals at a single frequency, like the typical touchscreen, Touché monitors capacitive signals across a broad range of frequencies.
This Swept Frequency Capacitive Sensing (SFCS) makes it possible to not only detect a "touch event," but to recognize complex configurations of the hand or body that is doing the touching. An ... more
May help improve drug delivery and explain natural patterns from brain folds to bell peppers.
The flexible properties of hydrogels — highly absorbent, gelatinous polymers that shrink and expand depending on environmental conditions such as humidity, pH and temperature — have made them ideal for applications from contact lenses to baby diapers and adhesives.
In recent years, researchers have investigated hydrogels’ potential in drug delivery, engineering them into drug-carrying vehicles that rupture when exposed to certain environmental stimuli. Such vesicles may slowly release their ... more
A new study by a team including scientists from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) indicates that thin polymer films can have different properties depending on the method by which they are made. The results* suggest that deeper work is necessary to explore the best way of creating these films, which are used in applications ranging from high-tech mirrors to computer memory devices.
Thin films spread atop a surface have many applications in industry. Inexpensive organic solar cells might be made of such films, to name one potential use. Typically they're made by dissolving the polymer, and then spreading a small amount of the liquid out on a surface, called a substrate. The solution becomes a film as the solvent dries and the remainder solidifies. But as this happens, stresses develop within the film that can affect its structure.
Manufacturers would like to know more ... more
A process that spins starch into fine strands could take the sting out of removing bandages, as well as produce less expensive and more environmentally-friendly toilet paper, napkins and other products, according to Penn State food scientists.
"There are many applications for starch fibers," said Lingyan Kong, graduate student, food science, "Starch is the most abundant and also the least expensive of natural polymers."
Kong, who worked with Greg Ziegler, professor of food science, used a solvent to dissolve the starch into a fluid that can then be spun into long strands, or fibers. These fibers can be combined and formed into paper-like mats similar to napkins, tissues and other types of paper products.
Once the ... more
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