Materials

Imagine a glow-in-the-dark designer desk, or wooden fence posts that guide you home with their eerie light. Scientists in Switzerland have developed a way to make glowing wood, with the help of a fungus.

Cranking up the air conditioner keeps buildings cool, but it guzzles energy. Passive materials can regulate temperatures more efficiently, and now scientists have developed a new coating that keeps glass much cooler, while still being transparent.

Ice wreaks havoc on surfaces, but we might have a new way to prevent it building up. Scientists at Northwestern University have shown that textured surfaces with thin layers of graphene oxide can stay completely frost-free for long periods.

If you've ever had a packing peanut stick to your clothes as you unbox your Amazon delivery, then you know that Styrofoam is pretty good at generating static electricity. A new invention turns that quality into a workable energy-saving solution.

Vibration-absorbing, sound-damping materials such as sheets of rubber and expanded foam tend to be thick, bulky and soft. A new material is a big exception to that tendency, however, as it absorbs vibrations while staying stiff and thin.

Researchers at UCLA have successfully devised a way to produce cement with 98% less CO2 emissions than traditional methods. The team achieved this by decomposing limestone to access calcium oxide (aka lime) without releasing carbon dioxide.

It’s straight out of a comic book: a shot of liquid silk quickly hardens into a sticky, strong fiber that can lift objects. Sound familiar? Researchers have described their Spider-Man-inspired tech in a new study.

Tubular structures that fold flat for storage may not take up much room in that form, but they also tend not to be very strong when deployed. That isn't a problem with an experimental new type of tube, that's inspired by both origami and bamboo.

Using a 3D printer that works with molten glass, researchers forged LEGO-like glass bricks with a strength comparable to concrete. The bricks could have a role in circular construction in which materials are used over and over again.

A pair of Princeton engineers have developed a new kind of concrete that promises more than 5 times the damage resistance of the usual stuff, by poking holes in its structure.

Manufacturing could be dramatically changed thanks to two new techniques for joining materials created by scientists in Austria. The two methods create super strong bonds at the pore level, eliminating the need for caustic adhesives.

You know how EVs and practically anything else that runs on lithium batteries aren't really all that 'green' because producing lithium takes a huge toll on the planet?

A serendipitous discovery at Stanford revealed the properties of a material that changes form when exposed to flame. The finding holds promise for a spray coating that could protect homes from fire over four times as long as current solutions.

The second largest diamond in the world has been discovered in Botswana. Canadian mining company Lucara Diamond used an advanced X-ray scanner to find a 2,492-carat diamond from its Karowe Diamond Mine. That's a whopping 17.58 oz (498.4 g).

When it comes to keeping cool on hot days, it's not so much a matter of wearing less clothing as it is a matter of wearing the right clothing. A new fabric coating could help in that regard, and it's essentially made of chalk.