Scientists have uncovered what they’re calling the oldest colors on Earth. Dating back more than a billion years, the bright pink pigments are the remains of some of the earliest microscopic organisms that once inhabited an ancient ocean, and their discovery helps fill a gap in the fossil record.
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Chameleons change color via a layer of skin cells which contain nanocrystals. As the lizards stretch or relax their skin, the spacing between those crystals changes, altering the manner in which they reflect light. Now, scientists have designed a color-changing nanolaser that works the same way.
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When a patient is suffering from a condition such as venous leg ulcers, that limb needs to be wrapped in a compression bandage. It's important, however, that the the correct amount of pressure is applied. New color-changing bandage fibers have been designed to ensure that caregivers get it right.
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Traditional synthetic hair dyes can be quite toxic, not only to our bodies, but also to the environment. As a result, scientists are developing non-toxic dyes based on substances such as graphene. Now, it appears that waste blackcurrant skins can also do the job.
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You may think that a sheet of plain paper is already pretty white, but scientists from the University of Cambridge have created an eco-friendly material that's reportedly 20 times whiter. In order to do so, they copied the scales of a Southeast Asian beetle.
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For some people, one of the more challenging aspects of painting involves mixing off-the-shelf paint colors together in order to get the exact shades that they want. If you're such a person, then Picolor may be for you.
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A team from the University of Cambridge and a Dutch company called Hoekmine BV has outlined how we might one day grow new organic paints and coatings out of vibrantly-colored bacteria colonies.
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Imagine if you could recolor your smartphone case, to match what you were wearing. Well, it may eventually be possible, thanks to research being conducted at MIT. Scientists there have created a system that allows the color of 3D-printed objects to be changed repeatedly, after they've been created.
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Researchers have developed a new technique to make metamaterials with nanoscale structures that can be tuned with strange optical properties. Using DNA-modified gold nanoparticles, the team could change the material's color, opening the door for new sensors or cloaking devices.
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It takes cross-breeding to turn flowers certain colors, but scientists can dig right in and change them at a genetic level much faster. Using the CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing tool, scientists have changed the flowers of the Japanese morning glory from its usual violet to a pure white.
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