new material

Scientists at North Carolina State University have created a magnetic “metasheet” that can move objects and liquids around without needing robot arms or grippers.

Ice wreaks havoc on surfaces, but we might have a new way to prevent it building up. Scientists at Northwestern University have shown that textured surfaces with thin layers of graphene oxide can stay completely frost-free for long periods.

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.

Gels and glasses are on opposite ends of the material spectrum, but engineers at North Carolina State University (NCSU) have developed a new class called “glassy gels” that are both strong and flexible, as well as sticky and self-healing.

Glass might soon have some competition from an unlikely rival – bamboo. Scientists in China have turned regular old bamboo into a transparent material that’s also resistant to fire and water, and suppresses smoke.

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.

Graphene is the Novak Djokovic of materials – it’s so damn talented that it’s getting boring celebrating each new victory. But an exciting new upstart is challenging graphene’s title. Meet goldene, a 2D sheet of gold with its own strange properties.

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.

Scraping ice off your car window might get a lot easier in the future thanks to a new spray coating developed by scientists in Austria. That's because of the way the molecules line up – or don't – during its high-tech creation process.

A plane wing that changes shape in flight to better handle the airflow crossing it could be on the horizon thanks to a materials science advance from researchers in Stockholm. The trick involves the melting and hole-punching power of lasers.

Prepare for a radical acceleration in technological development. A Google Deepmind AI has achieved "an order-of-magnitude expansion in stable materials known to humanity," finding about 800 years' worth of new materials with revolutionary potential.

Scientists have found that a “superatomic” material is the fastest and most efficient semiconductor ever. Taking advantage of a tortoise-and-hare mechanism, the new material can transport energy much faster than silicon.