The US Environmental Protection Agency is reexamining the health effects of bisphenol A. A chemist explains why BPA is in plastics and why it’s hard to find a safe replacement.
Nickel oxide, the gray-and-black-striped material, demonstrates unique properties when exposed to hydrogen.
Purdue University/Kayla Wiles
The ability to store information is central to learning and the field of artificial intelligence. Researchers have shown how a unique material shows basic learning properties similar to that of slugs.
The Curiosity Mars rover, launched in November 2011, is powered by a nuclear battery that relies on thermoelectric materials to turn heat from radioactive decay into electricity.
(NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS)
More than two-thirds of the world’s energy is wasted as heat. Thermoelectric materials can convert unwanted heat into electricity, but finding the best ones has been slow.
The unique properties of clays make them suitable for a wide variety of applications.
(Shutterstock)
Jason Ng, Northern Alberta Institute of Technology and Andrea Sedgwick, Northern Alberta Institute of Technology
Throughout human history, clay has played a role in many different industries. Its unique properties make it suited for a wide applications in widely ranging industries.
Batteries power much of modern life, from electric and hybrid cars to computers, medical devices and cellphones. But unless they’re made easier and cheaper to recycle, a battery waste crisis looms.
The material that your shirt is made of plays a big role in how hot you feel.
RUNSTUDIO/Photodisc via Getty Images
More companies are selling products that claim to keep you cool on hot days. But it turns out that common materials used in sports clothing may not always be the best.
A smartphone that bends: one day soon this could be your flexible friend.
Shutterstock/Gang Liu
Is it too much to dream of batteries that are part of the structure of an item, helping to shape the form of a smartphone, car or building while also powering its functions?
World Cup jerseys have to please players, national officials, FIFA rulemakers and – perhaps most importantly – fans who buy them to show support for their teams.
Fractured concrete pavement slabs on a street in Canton, Mich.
Victor Li
‘Bendable concrete’ is not an oxymoron. Mimicking designs found in nature, engineers are making concrete that gives under stress without shattering – an advance that could improve US infrastructure.
Subbing new risks for the current dyes’ dangers?
Evgeny Savchenko/Shutterstock.com
Less-toxic hair dye would be a great invention. But discounting the risks that come with nanoparticles could undermine other efforts to protect human health and environmental from their effects.
What is the right outerwear for top competition?
U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team
No longer in fanciful coats or button-down shirts with neckties, Olympians compete in uniforms specially designed and engineered for maximum performance.
What’s inside Olympians’ skis?
AP Photo/Luca Bruno
Marc Zupan, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Highly engineered composite materials let skis ride smoothly, carve neatly and turn quickly – for top athletes and regular consumers alike.
Strange new materials that propel the fictional Star Trek universe are being developed by scientists in reality today. Above, the USS Discovery accelerates to warp speed in an artist’s rendition for the TV series Star Trek Discovery.
(Handout)
Bio-inspiration takes cues from natural structures that do certain things very effectively. One example: the strong but flexible fibers that sea sponges use to anchor themselves to the ocean floor.
Molecular machines are ready to join forces and take on real-world work.
Chenfeng Ke
Research on molecular machines won last year’s Nobel Prize in chemistry. Now scientists have figured out a way to get these tiny molecules to join forces and collaborate on real work on a macro scale.
Coating paper with an inexpensive thin film can allow users to print and erase a physical page as many as 80 times. That reduces both the cost and the environmental effects of paper use.