Materials Science

More Stories in Materials Science

  1. A close up photo of a car's tire while it drives on a black top road.
    Chemistry

    Tear-resistant rubbery materials could pave the way for tougher tires

    Adding easy-to-break molecular connectors surprisingly makes materials harder to tear and could one day reduce microplastic pollution from car tires.

    By Skyler Ware
  2. A house in Indonesia
    Environment

    This house was built partly from recycled diapers

    Disposable diapers can replace nearly a third of the materials used in load-bearing structures, offering a potential path to more affordable housing.

    By Carolyn Gramling
  3. Fungus mycelium growing on a decaying trunk.
    Materials Science

    A vegan leather made of dormant fungi can repair itself

    Researchers developed a leather alternative made from dormant fungus that can be reanimated and then regrow when damaged.

    By Jude Coleman
  4. A photo of a hand holding a light colored rectangle with darker lines running across it.
    Health & Medicine

    A graphene “tattoo” could help hearts keep their beat

    A proof-of-concept electronic heart tattoo relies on graphene to act as an ultrathin, flexible pacemaker. In rats, it treated an irregular heartbeat.

    By Meghan Rosen
  5. An oil painting showing a woman holding the body of Jesus Christ while another woman holds his head and another his feet. There are several men standing around and looking at the scene. All are brightly dressed.
    Chemistry

    Here’s why some Renaissance artists egged their oil paintings

    Some Renaissance artists created eggs-quisite paintings by adding yolks to oil paints, which may have helped add texture and prevent yellowing.

    By Jude Coleman
  6. A close up photo of several ghost catfish swimming on a black background while a light is shining on some of their scales which appear iridescent.
    Animals

    These transparent fish turn rainbow with white light. Now, we know why

    Repeated structures in the ghost catfish’s muscles separate white light that passes through their bodies into different wavelengths.

    By McKenzie Prillaman
  7. gallery of images showing a Lego-like figure liquifying to escape from a prison
    Materials Science

    These shape-shifting devices melt and re-form thanks to magnetic fields

    Miniature machines made of gallium embedded with magnetic particles can switch between solid and liquid states.

    By McKenzie Prillaman
  8. tiny animals from the Chinese zodiac, made in hydrogels of different colors. Top row from left: purple monkey, yellow and purple pig, yellow and purple snake, bluish gray dog, green rabbit. Bottom row from left: green tiger, yellow goat, orange horse, purple rooster, teal rat.
    Materials Science

    Want a ‘Shrinky Dinks’ approach to nano-sized devices? Try hydrogels

    Patterning hydrogels with a laser and then shrinking them down with chemicals offers a way to make nanoscopic structures out of many materials.

    By James R. Riordon
  9. The Pantheon in Rome still stands including its soaring dome.
    Chemistry

    These chemists cracked the code to long-lasting Roman concrete

    Roman concrete has stood the test of time, so scientists searched ruins to unlock the ancient recipe that could help architecture and climate change.

    By Carolyn Gramling