Materials

Australian researchers have created what may be one of the most thermally stable materials ever discovered. This remarkable advanced material, made of scandium, aluminum, tungsten and oxygen, doesn't change in volume at all between 4 and 1,400 Kelvin.

By mimicking the self-assembling microstructures that give spider silk its incredible strength, scientists have produced a plant-based film with the strength of common single-use plastics, offering a "vegan" eco-friendly alternative.

Scientists at Stanford University have demonstrated a cement recipe that swaps troublesome limestone for zero-carbon volcanic rock, which might just help reinforce the finished product through embedded microscopic fibers.

The ocean holds billions of tons of lithium, and scientists have just tested a new way of extracting it, with a device that takes in seawater and pumps out freshwater and lithium phosphate – plus more than enough H2 and chlorine to pay the power bill.

Silicon is vital to all of the electronics that our modern world is built on. Now, research led by the Carnegie Institution for Science has developed a way to create a new form of silicon with a unique hexagonal structure.

Ducks have specialized feathers that keep them from getting too wet. Now, engineers at Virginia Tech have investigated the physics behind how they work and developed synthetic feathers that could help ships glide through the water more easily.

Scientists have worked out a way to embed active enzymes in plastic that can give it different capabilities, such as an ability to break down proteins on the surface or degrade itself to avoid polluting the environment.

Recent research projects have demonstrated how the wonder material graphene could play a role in stronger, more eco-friendly concrete, and now we're seeing the first real-world deployment of the technology in the foundations of a new gym in the UK.

It sounds like the premise of a comedy sketch, but researchers at the University of Tokyo have developed a way to recycle food scraps into construction materials that are stronger than concrete, yet remain edible and tasty.

Researchers in Europe have developed an entirely new form of carbon, one that bears similarities to the wonder material graphene but with some useful differences that could open up new possibilities in electronics and advanced lithium batteries.

There are now a number of materials designed to give robots or prostheses a sense of touch. And while most of them are thin and skin-like, a new alternative takes the form of a spongey foam – and it combines several desirable qualities.

Ever since the 1890s, cricket bats have been made of willow wood. According to a new study, however, bamboo bats should offer better performance and a lower environmental footprint, plus they could make the sport more accessible to poor countries.