Materials

While clay is widely used to build basic structures such as huts, we typically don't see it being utilized in large-scale construction projects. That could soon change, however, thanks to a recently developed process known as impact printing.

Scientists have demonstrated a new potential treatment for bone cancer. A bioactive glass laced with a toxic metal was able to kill up to 99% of the cancer without harming healthy cells, and could even help regrow healthy bone after.

Although wind turbines generate electricity via an eco-friendly process, their blades end up in landfills once they wear out. That could change, however, thanks to a resin that would allow old blades to be broken down and recycled into new ones.

Metalworking usually requires very high heat and pressure, but scientists in Singapore have now demonstrated a way to make very pure metal structures at room temperature. It’s inspired by the exoskeletons of crabs and insects.

The 3D printing of certain items could soon get a lot faster, simpler and more eco-friendly. That's because scientists have developed a new 3D printing ink which is easily extruded as a liquid, then solidifies on contact with a saltwater solution.

It’s ironic that while many regions struggle with water shortages, there’s heaps of the stuff floating around in the air everywhere. A new MIT water harvester design can pull enough fresh water out of the air to meet the daily needs of several people.

Your boots may soon have a tropical touch, with a breakthrough in using pineapple leaves to make a strong, 100% natural, sustainable leather. It comprehensively outperformed mushroom leather, and has serious potential for scalable, commercial use.

If you think these bricks look so simple even a robot could build a house with them, you'd be right. Plaex, the startup behind them, sees an automated construction industry in our near future, where materials will adapt to suit a new robotic workforce.

Forget radioactive spiders – a new breakthrough could make it easier to get Spider-Man’s wall-crawling powers. Scientists in Singapore have created a strong and reusable adhesive out of a shape-memory polymer, triggered by temperature changes.

Scientists have developed a new "ink" that allows objects to be 3D-printed out of wood. The material could reduce the amount of wood that gets wasted in the manufacturing of various products, plus it could utilize existing wood waste.

In many cases nature has better versions of our tech. The newest example comes from a common insect in your backyard, which makes nanoscale soccer balls that hide it from predators – inspiring new, better UV protection and maybe even cloaking tech.

Time crystals are a strange state of matter with properties that sound impossible, but they have been created. Now, German scientists have made one that lasts 10 million times longer than in previous experiments.