Colorado State University

Aerial drones are much more useful if they can grasp and carry objects, plus they use much less power if they can perch on stationary objects instead of hovering. A new attachment allows drones to do both, without using any electricity.

Tiny quadcopter drones, or micro air vehicles (MAVs), have notoriously short battery lives. So, if they can "perch" somewhere instead of hovering in mid-air, more power to them. A new gripper mechanism has been designed with that in mind.

When we think of soft-bodied robots, we tend to picture things that slowly crawl like caterpillars. A new one is able to move much quicker, though, by leaping like a cheetah.

​As useful as it is, plastic isn’t the most environmentally-friendly material. To try to wean us off it, chemists at Colorado State University have now developed a polymer that apparently has all the benefits, but can be easily broken down and recycled over and over.

​Many wild elephants already wear GPS-equipped collars, which let wildlife officials track their whereabouts. An upgrade to those collars, however, could soon allow those officials to instantly know when poachers are shooting at the elephants.

​​When a medical implant is rejected by the body, blood platelets adhere to the device, forming a clot that encapsulates it. Engineers at Colorado State University, however, have developed blood-repellent titanium that could be used to build such implants.​

​There are already processes that allow materials to become superomniphobic – repellant to liquids including oils. Wouldn't it be easier, however, if there was just a superomniphobic tape one could apply? Well, now there is.

Those last stubborn drops of ketchup, shampoo or honey are practically impossible to retrieve from a near-empty bottle. Advanced nonstick coatings are threatening to put an end to this unavoidable wastage, and a new coating made from edible wax is shaping up as a high-potential candidate.

In what could form the basis of petroleum-free plastics that are both entirely recyclable and biodegradable, chemists have found a polymer that can be synthesized into useful materials and then broken down into its original building blocks to be given a new life.