Cotton

While there are already clothing materials that help keep wearers cool simply by allowing heat to escape, an experimental new fabric coating goes a step further. Utilizing a whole bunch of nanodiamonds, it actually draws heat away from the body.

While infected wounds aren't a good thing, neither is the proliferation of antibiotic-resistant bacteria which may occur due to overuse of the drugs. That's where a new type of bandage comes in, as it kills microbes without resorting to antibiotics.

A group of scientists has come up with a novel coating for everyday cotton that gives it a broader set of useful traits, enabling it to repel oil and water with ease, and most impressively, float even when bearing loads many times its own weight.

Cotton is a widely-grown crop and its seeds are full of protein, so you might think they'd be a great source of food. Unfortunately, though, they're toxic to humans. That said, such is not the case with a newly-developed variety of the plant.

When a cotton gin is used to separate cotton fibers from their seeds, a lot of lint is produced as a waste product. Currently, much of that cotton lint is just burned or put in landfills. Thanks to recent research out of Australia, however, it may soon be converted into biodegradable plastic.

​Scientists from the National University of Singapore have found a new use for cotton-based fabric waste – they've devised a method of converting it into an aerogel. Among other things, the ultralight material could be used to keep water bottles cold, and to control bleeding from deep wounds.

Working with cellulose from trees, researchers have produced fibers claimed to be as strong as steel, and versatile enough to replace strands of fiberglass or lengths of cotton whilst still remaining biodegradable.

Project Piola is combining the ethos of fair trade and the French design flair to create shoes with organic rubber and cotton from Peru.

Scientists have created a new "fog harvesting" material, that switches between being absorbent and water-repellant.

A team of Swiss researchers has developed a new kind of bed linen with the intention of reducing the occurrence of bedsores among bed-ridden patients.

Researchers have developed a coating for fabric, that could be used to clean clothing simply by exposing it to sunlight.

Cotton is being used for many purposes, including reducing pollution, insulating homes, cleaning up oil spills, and feeding the hungry.