National University of Singapore (NUS)

“Our surfaces improved heat transfer up to 71 percent”   New nanopatterned surfaces could improve the efficiency of powerplants and desalination systems. The condensation of water is crucial to the operation of most of the powerplants that provide our electricity — whether they are fueled by coal, natural gas or nuclear fuel. It is also

Imaging reveals what happens during charging; could lead to improved batteries for electric cars One of the most promising new kinds of battery to power electric cars is called a lithium-air battery, which could store up to four times as much energy per pound as today’s best lithium-ion batteries. But progress has been slow: The

Lab-on-a-chip technology reveals how human cells communicate, opening path to new treatments for cancer and autoimmune disorders Breakthrough lab-on-a-chip technology that reveals how human cells communicate could lead to new treatments for cancer and autoimmune disorders. Developed by an Australian-Swiss research team, the technology offers researchers unprecedented insights into how individual cells behave – something

Up until now, the invisibility cloaks put forward by scientists have been fairly bulky contraptions – an obvious flaw for those interested in Harry Potter-style applications. However, researchers from the US have now developed a cloak that is just micrometres thick and can hide three-dimensional objects from microwaves in their natural environment, in all directions

A group of African girls have made an engine that runs on a truly renewable resource: human urine. Over the last two days, Lagos, Nigeria has hosted Maker Faire Africa, the Maker movement’s bastion on that continent. One of the most impressive and surprising devices displayed there is a device that uses a material we all

UNIST scientists have developed an exiting new catalyst that can split water into hydrogen almost as good as platinum, but less costly and found frequently on Earth. As described in the journal Nature Nanotechnology, this ruthenium (Ru)-based material works almost as efficient as platinum and likely shows the highest catalytic performance without being affected by the pH of

These results show us that fisheries can be both highly productive and sustainable In the search for sustainability of the ocean’s fisheries, solutions can be found in a surprising place: the ancient past. In a study to be published March 23 in the journal Fish and Fisheries, a team of marine scientists reconstructed fisheries yields

Researchers have used liquid metals to turn carbon dioxide back into solid coal, in a world-first breakthrough that could transform our approach to carbon capture and storage. The research team led by RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, have developed a new technique that can efficiently convert CO2 from a gas into solid particles of carbon.

University of Tokyo researchers have demonstrated an electrically-controllable valley current device that may pave the way to ultra-low-power valleytronics devices. On the atomic scale, matter behaves as both a particle and a wave. Electrons, therefore, have an associated wavelength that usually can have many different values. In crystalline systems however, certain wavelengths may be favored.

The big idea is to create objects that can change after they are printed, making them self-adapting. There are 3D printers that build things up, adding one sliver of plastic at a time, and 3D mills that tear things down, grinding away one small chunk at a time. But Skylar Tibbits offer a very provocative