Corning uses neutrons to reveal ‘atomic rings’ help predict glass performance
From DOE/Oak Ridge National Laboratory 31/01/24 Glass is being used in a wider range of high-performance applications, including those for consumers and industry, military and aerospace electronics, coatings and optics. Because of the extreme precision demanded for use in products such as mobile phones and jet aircraft, glass substrates must not change their shape during […]
China builds 26-story modular tower in 5 days
From Superinnovators 30/01/24 Chinese company Broad Sustainable Building (f. 2009) completed the modular construction of a 15,000m² 26-story residential tower in Xiangyin on 11th Jan 2024, taking just five days. Broad’s method, called Holon Building, involves prefabricating stainless steel, shipping container-sized building sections in a factory and assembling them on site. Their approach reduces costs […]
Preharvest fruit bagging reduces pesticide use
From Superinnovators 30/01/24 Fruit bagging, an agricultural technique originating in Japan over a hundred years ago, is gaining popularity among farmers across the world for its multiple benefits. This process involves enclosing individual fruits or clusters in bags while they are still on the tree, protecting them from pests, diseases, and sun and mechanical damage […]
Bioengineers on the brink of breaching blood-brain barrier
From University of Pennsylvania 30/01/24 Imagine the brain as an air traffic control tower, overseeing the crucial and complex operations of the body’s ‘airport.’ This tower, essential for coordinating the ceaseless flow of neurological signals, is guarded by a formidable layer that functions like the airport’s security team, diligently screening everything and everyone, ensuring no […]
Innovative tech shows promise to boost rubber production in US
From Ohio State University 30/01/24 With disease and high demand posing threats to the world’s primary natural rubber supply in Southeast Asia, scientists are working to ramp up the U.S. rubber market by advancing methods to extract latex from two sustainable North American plant sources: a dandelion species and a desert shrub. Researchers reported their […]
New technology lets researchers track brain cells’ “off switches”
From Scripps Research 30/01/24 For decades, scientists have studied the intricate activity patterns in human and animal brains by observing when different groups of brain cells turn on. Equally important to understanding the brain and related diseases, however, is knowing how long those neurons stay active and when they turn off again. Now, scientists at […]
Pivoting wheelbarrow handles for easier dumping
From Superinnovators 29/01/24 US company Pivot-All Motion Tools unveiled the ergonomic Pivot-All wheelbarrow at the World of Concrete 2024 event in Las Vegas last week. It features patented pivoting handles designed to improve user balance and comfort by allowing use of the same grip during transport and unloading, rather than having to awkwardly switch to […]
Smart windows display info on Chongqing Metro
From Superinnovators 29/01/24 Smart windows displaying dynamic information have been installed on Chongqing Metro trains with first video of the innovation shared on social media by mychinatrip in Dec 2023. Information includes station layouts, metro maps, and tourist attraction images with some windows also having touch screen interactivity. The operators haven’t released any info on […]
Liquid lithium on the walls of a fusion device helps the plasma within maintain a hot edge
From Princeton Plasma Physics Laborator 29/01/24 Emerging research suggests it may be easier to use fusion as a power source if liquid lithium is applied to the internal walls of the device housing the fusion plasma. Plasma, the fourth state of matter, is a hot gas made of electrically charged particles. Scientists at the Department […]
Novel material facilitates measurement of concrete deterioration in buildings and other structures
From Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo 26/01/24 Concrete is an essential material in the construction industry, where it is fundamental to the foundations and structures of dwellings and office buildings, as well as roads, dams and bridges, among many other infrastructure projects. However, the service life of concrete is limited, […]