ACS Production of France, a specialist in textile architecture, will launch ALOE – a structure for providing shade in the garden or beside a swimming pool – in May 2006. The composite structure is made of metal (the foot can also be dressed with wood) and textiles. ALOE was used during televised interviews on the beach of the Hotel Majestic in Cannes for the 2005 Film Festival.
ALOE’s textile structures are inspired by the natural shape of foliage. They are formed on a metal
Rotavirus vaccine will protect children against a major killer worldwide
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today announced the licensing of a new vaccine against a disease responsible for tens of thousands of hospitalizations in the United States and hundreds of thousands of deaths around the world each year. The vaccine, developed by Merck & Co., Inc., will be sold as ROTATEQ® and will protect infants against rotavirus infection. Rotavirus is a highly contagious virus that i
Could engineers have known ahead of time exactly how much pressure the levees protecting New Orleans could withstand before giving way? Is it possible to predict when and under what conditions material wear and tear will become critical, causing planes to crash or bridges to collapse? A study by Weizmann Institute scientists takes a new and original approach to the study of how materials fracture and split apart.
When force is applied to a material (say, a rock hitting a pane of glass
Paper receives March of Dimes award
Researchers at the 26th Annual Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM) meeting today announced that profiling certain proteins in amniotic fluid is the fastest and most accurate way to detect potentially dangerous infections in pregnant women, and also can accurately predict whether premature delivery is imminent.
Diagnosing intra-amniotic inflammation or infection is crucial because these conditions can lead to the death of the fe
UCLA researcher developing lab to help manufacturer testing
Shades of science fiction surround the potential of the booming nanotechnology industry – like Michael Crichton’s novel “Prey”, which features tiny nano-robots threatening to take over the world. Fiction of course, but nanotechnology is rapidly expanding and promises to exceed the impact of the Industrial Revolution, projecting to become a $1 trillion market by 2015.
UCLA has developed a new testing met
A rubbery material that can purify hydrogen efficiently in its most usable form for fuel cells and oil refining has been developed by a chemical engineering group at The University of Texas at Austin.
In the Feb. 3 edition of Science, Dr. Benny Freeman details how his laboratory designed the membrane material and tested its ability, with colleagues at Research Triangle Institute (RTI) in Research Triangle Park, N.C., to successfully separate hydrogen from carbon dioxide and other
Bioscientists from the University of Kent have called for clinical trials to further investigate how traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) may have a positive effect on sperm genetic abnormalities, and thereby influence the success rate of male infertility treatment.
A team led by Dr Darren Griffin, Reader in Genetics in the University’s Department of Biosciences, has already conducted research on six men who had very high levels of chromosome abnormalities in their sperm by followin
Researchers discover how atoms are arranged in unusual material
Using state-of-the-art lab techniques and powerful computer simulations, Johns Hopkins researchers have discovered how atoms pack themselves in unusual materials known as metallic glasses. Their findings should help scientists better understand the atomic scale structure of this material, which is used to make sports equipment, cell phone cases, armor-piercing projectiles and other products.
The discovery,
Aspirin is typically prescribed for people at risk of having an ischemic stroke to prevent blood clots. Because aspirin may cause bleeding, it is typically avoided in people who have had a hemorrhagic stroke, also called intracerebral hemorrhage. A new study, however, finds that aspirin may not increase the risk of recurrent intracerebral hemorrhage. The study is published in the January 24, 2006 issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN).
Rese
A major community eye screening programme to monitor the sight of 12,000 diabetes patients across Central Lancashire over a 12 month period has scored a world first in using secure messaging telemedicine to successfully transfer patient information between opticians, hospitals and a screening administration centre within the PCTs. The diabetic retinopathy screening programme is using OptoMize, an innovative software product combining digital images of the retina with an electronic patient adm
Scientists at Virginia Tech have developed a single-step process for creating nonwoven fibrous mats from a small organic molecule – creating a new nanoscale material with potential applications where biocompatible materials are required, such as scaffolds for tissue growth and drug delivery.
The research will be presented in the Jan. 20 issue of Science, in the article, “Phospholipid Nonwoven Electrospun Membranes,” by Matthew G. McKee, a recent Ph.D. graduate in chemical eng
British experts have pioneered the world’s first non-tarnishing sterling silver in a breakthrough that could revolutionise the silver industry.
Researchers in Sheffield, the city famous for stainless steel, have developed a ‘stainless silver’ alloy that resists the discolouring effect of pollutants and retains its bright finish.
The groundbreaking alloy, developed by researchers from Sheffield Hallam University’s Materials and Engineering Research Institute (MERI) and l
The continuing trend toward higher circuit density in microelectronic devices has motivated research efforts in varieties of high-resolution lithography techniques, including electron beam (EB), X-ray, and deep UV irradiation. Use of ultra-thin films and new materials have been proposed as approaches to improve resolution in lithography. The Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) technique is very effective method used to prepare well-defined ultra-thin film with controlled thickness and orientation at a mol
Coloured transparent organic-inorganic hybrid coatings
Interior design is set to utilise a new era in coloured materials if a team of researchers from Mexico have their way. The researchers have developed hard, coloured, transparent, organic–inorganic hybrid coatings for a range of materials. The success of the coatings comes from the formation of a composite or bio-mineral system at the nanoscopic or molecular level.
In a paper published in AZojomo*, the researchers, J.
Enhancing the thermal conductivity of â-Si 3N 4 ceramics
Silicon nitride ceramics are important engineering materials due to their excellent properties such as fracture toughness, wear resistance and high temperature strength. They were originally developed to compete with metallic parts and now find application in such areas as engine components, glow plugs for diesel engines, cutting tools, bearings, nozzles and kiln furniture.
Thermal conductivity is an important physi
Geopolymers with the potential for use as refractory castable
From the most technologically aware city dwellers to remote jungle tribes, almost the entire population of the earth know polymeric materials as plastics. Although some plastics are oven proof and can readily withstand high temperatures, they generally melt or burn at extreme temperatures.
Inorganic polymers are different and show promise for use in elevated temperature applications. Inorganic polymers made f
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