Gold

Not all maple syrups are created equal. There are actually over 60 taste categories that syrups fall into, as determined by human taste-testers. Soon, though, a solution containing gold nanoparticles could save those people some work.

The colorful glaze on that ceramic mug of yours may look nice, but there's a chance that it could contain toxic substances. US scientists have thus created a safer type of glaze, that incorporates tiny particles of silver and gold.

While we've already heard about light-activated germ-killing coatings, they generally require either ultraviolet or high-intensity light. A new one, however, works with regular low-intensity light, as might be found in offices or waiting rooms.

Phages, viruses that thrive by infecting bacteria, have long been mooted as a potential replacement for antibiotics, but they pose risks due to their own rapid evolution. New research suggests it may be possible to mitigate their risks.

With gold, beauty and weight are two sides of the same coin. Now, by mixing it with plastic instead of other metals, researchers have created a new form of gold with as little as one-10th the usual weight, but retaining the same purity.

A new gold-doped antibacterial nanomesh has been designed as a more effective alternative to pills or needles.

A bright explosion in the sky in 2016 has now been identified as a kilonova, where two neutron stars collide and create gold.

Since electronics are always shrinking, engineers need to find ways to make smaller components too. Now, scientists from the University of Leeds have managed to make the thinnest gold ever created, measuring just two atoms thick. That makes it functionally two-dimensional, joining graphene.

Scientists from Australia’s CSIRO have now found a fungus species that mines for gold and even decorates itself with the precious particles. Following the fungus could be a new, environmentally-friendly way to find large underground gold deposits.

Researchers at Cambridge University have managed to create the smallest pixels in the world, about a million times tinier than those in a phone. These new pixels could be used in huge, flexible displays that are relatively easy to manufacture and cheaper to run.

Melting gold normally requires temperatures upwards of 1,064° C (1,947° F), but physics is never quite that simple. A team of researchers has now found a way to melt gold at room temperature using an electric field and an electron microscope.

​If you need to close up an injury or incision in human body tissue, you use sutures, staples or a surgical adhesive … right? Well, if technology that's currently being developed at Arizona State University gets commercialized, liquid silk combined with gold may eventually be a better way to go.