Materials Sciences

Early correct diagnosis of breast cancer can mean the difference between life and death for the significant proportion of western women affected by the disease. Small clumps of calcium salts – microcalcifications – are often the earliest signs of breast cancer, and appear in 25% of mammograms. Oxford researchers have developed a new method to identify more reliably these clusters.

Calcifications appear as bright spots or clusters of spots; small clustered whorled calcifications ar

UCLA chemists report the discovery of a remarkable new nanoscale phenomenon: An ordinary camera flash causes the instantaneous welding together of nanofibers made of polyaniline, a unique synthetic polymer that can be made in either a conducting or an insulating form. The discovery, which the chemists call “flash welding,” is published in the November issue of the journal Nature Materials.

Numerous applications potentially could result from this research in such areas as chemi

Spotless surfaces are of prime importance in the plastics and metal processing industries, as dust and dirt can impair the function and adhesive properties of parts. A portable measuring device, the KombiSens, can detect both types of contamination.

Greasy fingerprints on wineglasses, ketchup on the table, crumbs on the floor – anyone with a clean disposition would be disgusted. But spotless surfaces are not the prerogative of housework maniacs; they are essential in numerous sec

No one wants food that has gone mouldy – least of all when they have only just purchased the product. But consumers are not exactly wild about food preservatives either. Packaging researchers are now introducing coated films to fight the battle of the bacteria.

At first glance, food packaging and an operating theater don’t have much in common. But when you look at the elaborate procedures that are used in sterilising packaging materials, the operating theatre analogy is not so far

In work that could lead to applications including multifunctional textile fabrics and all-optical computer interfaces, MIT researchers report the creation of flexible fibers and fabrics that can not only sense light, but also analyze its colors.

“These novel fiber structures offer a unique possibility for constructing an optoelectronic functional fabric because the fibers are both flexible and mechanically tough, and can thus be woven,” write the researchers in the October 14 i

Innovative uses for plastics, rubber and their derivatives will be on display next week in Düsseldorf, at the world’s leading trade fair for plastics and rubber, K2004. A team from ESA will be present to show visitors how these commonplace materials can be used in space – and how this can lead to new technology for use on Earth.

“Plastics and derived materials today play an important role in spacecraft – years of research and development go into creating new materials that can wit