Empa

When a rope is heated – either by friction or by fire – it may lose its structural integrity, subsequently breaking when put under load. A new surface coating, however, could cause ropes to change color if they've been overheated, providing a warning to users.

When you think of processes that could benefit from a high-tech makeover, the drying of fruit may not be the first that comes to mind. It turns out, however, that the use of "ionic wind" for fruit-dehydration saves energy and preserves nutrients.

Many people take Spirulina as a dietary supplement, but researchers at the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Material Science have found a way to put the tiny spirals to work removing contaminants from water, and then make biofuels from their remains.

Although it's vitally important to keep wounds free of harmful bacteria, antibacterial ointments have to be regularly reapplied, requiring bandages to be removed. A new wound dressing, however, is claimed to continuously kill bacteria all on its own.

A new adaptation of a pre-stressing technique has been used to produce concrete that is lighter but with comparable strength, an advance that if widely applied, could save significant amounts of CO2.

Scientists at EMPA have developed a new aerogel-based material that blocks a wide range of electromagnetic radiation frequencies, forming what they describe as by far the lightest electromagnetic shielding material in the world.

Airliners can make a lot of noise and use a lot of fuel when they're coming in for a landing. A new onboard computer system, however, was recently shown to be effective at addressing both problems.

Researchers at Empa and EPFL have created one of the smallest motors ever made. It’s composed of just 16 atoms, and at that tiny size it seems to function right on the boundary between classical physics and the spooky quantum realm.

A type of natural polymer, cellulose has increasingly been finding use as an eco-friendly, biocompatible 3D-printing material. Now, scientists have devised a method of printing complex objects with a higher cellulose content than ever.

The gasoline age is giving way to electric, but there's still plenty of room for last-gasp improvements to the combustion engine.

​Most people think of turmeric as a kitchen spice, or perhaps as a health supplement that's taken orally. Now, however, scientists have incorporated curcumin – a compound extracted FROM turmeric – into a porous foam that's designed to heal skin wounds with a minimum of scarring.

​It was just this Wednesday that we heard about a non-toxic flame-retardant solution created by scientists at Texas A and M University. Well, researchers at Switzerland's Empa institute have also come up with one, which could be used to keep wood and wood-based building materials from burning.