Imagine you are a virus particle floating through the air. You need to find a strategic landing spot; one that would allow easy transfer to unsuspecting humans. What’s that? A shiny door knob at a busy office building — perfect! All it takes is for someone to twist the door knob and then touch their …
Copper’s Antiviral superpower: More super than we thought? Read More »
Access to clean drinking water is one of the pressing problems of our times. 71 percent of the earth’s surface is covered with water, yet one out of three people don’t have access to drinking water. This is because up to 97 percent of the Earth’s water is in the oceans, saturated with salt and …
Around 15% of American adults report some trouble hearing. That is about 37.5 million people who may need hearing aids for the majority of their lives. A common cause of hearing loss stems from special cells called spinal ganglion neurons (SGN) that transmit signals from hair cells in the ear to the brain. In these cases, regenerating …
A butterfly’s wings are the perfect mold to grow neurons on Read More »
In 1985, scientists vaporized graphite using a laser and looked closely at the residue. What they found was hollow cage like molecules made of carbon with 12 pentagonal and 20 hexagonal faces – much like a soccer ball. These molecules were named fullerenes, and was clear proof that diamond and graphite were not the only …
Liquid crystals flow like a liquid, but its molecule arrangement resemble solids. What makes them really interesting is the possibility to reorder molecules easily. Smart windows are made of these pseudo crystals mixed in polymers. These change from transparent to opaque at the flick of a switch when the crystals reorient. Is electricity the only …
Most deep sea creatures propel themselves by moving their fins. However, bioinspired robots designed to move this way are not efficient. The propulsion force is feeble and it is difficult to make them turn. Enter the squid – jet propulsion swimmers of the deep sea! By sucking water in and quickly contracting its soft body, …
Sony brought Lithium Ion batteries to market in 1991. Today, the same underlying battery tech powers everything from mobile phones to electric vehicles (EV). However, Lithium Ion batteries are far from perfect. Charging times are slow, energy density is average, and on the odd occasion, they spontaneously combust. Remember why the Samsung Note 7 was …
