Tufts University School of Engineering

Swimming microengines made from platinum and iron are highly efficient in removing organic pollutants from water using hydrogen peroxide. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart have developed a new method for the active degradation of organic pollutants in solution by using swimming microengines. The mobile microcleaners consist of an outer

Google on Tuesday opened its invitation-only social network, Google+, to anyone who wants to join at google.com/+. Google+ emphasizes privacy — like easily sharing with select groups of siblings or colleagues — and features like a video chat service called Hangouts. For Google, it is a way to fend off Facebook, which has been attracting

UPV/EHU-University of the Basque Country researchers develop a compact heat storage prototype that can be easily fitted in buildings 40% of the total consumption of energy in Europe takes place in buildings, so reducing this consumption is becoming increasingly important. Integrating renewables into the energy supply for buildings is a further step towards moving towards

Berkeley Lab researchers set the stage for new class of 3D-printed, all-liquid devices; could automate chemical synthesis for batteries and drug formulations Researchers at DOE’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have 3D-printed an all-liquid device that, with the click of a button, can be repeatedly reconfigured on demand to serve a wide range of

Expanding polymer enables self-folding without heating or immersion in water. As 3-D printing has become a mainstream technology, industry and academic researchers have been investigating printable structures that will fold themselves into useful three-dimensional shapes when heated or immersed in water. In a paper appearing in the American Chemical Society’s journal Applied Materials and Interfaces, researchers from MIT’s Computer

Get ready for feed-the-world by numbers. You’ve heard of paint by numbers? Get ready for feed-the-world by numbers. Dutch agricultural company PlantLab wants to change almost everything you know about growing plants. Instead of outdoors, they want farms to be in skyscrapers, warehouses, or underground using hydroponics or other forms of controlled environments. Instead of

The way barn owl brains use sound to locate prey may be a template for electronic directional navigation devices, according to a team of Penn State engineers who are recreating owl brain circuitry in electronics. “We were already studying this type of circuitry when we stumbled across the Jeffress model of sound localization,” said Saptarshi Das,

A Temple University researcher has developed a cement-like substance that could help with stormwater management while potentially keeping millions of plastic bottles out of landfills. Naji Khoury, an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at Temple, uses a mixture of recyclable plastic bottles and soil to create “Plastisoil,” a trademarked product he describes as

Scientists at the  at UT Southwestern (CRI) report that inactivating a certain protein-coding gene promotes liver tissue regeneration in mammals. “This research gives us ideas about new ways to treat liver damage or chronic liver disease,” said senior author Dr. Hao Zhu, an Assistant Professor at CRI with joint appointments in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics at