Pennsylvania State University

With a view to one day developing transparent solar cells that can double as windows in homes and other buildings, an international team of scientists has demonstrated a new type of transparent electrode that can function as a key building block.

In 2019, we looked at an innovative battery for electric vehicles that could be charged in 10 minutes. The researchers behind it have now added a couple more desirable attributes, including a cost they say is on par with internal combustion engines.

Scientists at Penn State University have developed a flexible sensor they say can be safely printed directly onto the skin, where it can track things like body temperature and blood oxygen levels, before being washed off once the job is done.

Materials that can heal themselves after becoming damaged have opened up some interesting new possibilities over the past decade or so, and a newly developed example inspired by squid ring teeth is claimed to act faster than most.

Although we're hearing more about 3D-printed replacement body parts, those parts need to be implanted via large incisions. That may not always be the case, however, thanks to a new "bio-ink" that could allow parts to be printed within the body.

While the high cost of production has proven a limitation to the widespread adoption of carbon fiber, scientists have found that a small amount of graphene could not only make it more affordable, but possibly stronger and stiffer at the same time.

Given the current worldwide push for water conservation, it's certainly ironic that people are still flushing great quantities of the stuff down their toilets. They may soon be using much less, however, thanks to a slippery new toilet bowl coating.

The latest promising advance in battery research comes from chemical engineers at Penn State University, who have built a new battery they say can fully charge an electric car in just 10 minutes by operating at extreme temperatures for short bursts.

The glass we’re most familiar with is made from silicon dioxide, but now, an international team of scientists have developed a brand new class of glass, made from metal-organic compounds. These new materials form glass more readily than other types, and are much more pliable.

Researchers from Penn State have developed a new technology that can harness the movements of a user's fingers against a touch screen to generate electricity. In time, the team hopes the technology could provide as much as 40 percent of the energy required by a next-gen smartphones and tablets.

The more circuits and connectors flex, the higher the likelihood they'll break. While we've seen self-healing chips, gels and microcapsules before, a new material out of Pennsylvania State University brings auto-repair to dielectrics – the materials that insulate electric currents.​

In an advance that could have ramifications for everything from electric vehicles to space exploration, researchers have built an all-climate lithium battery that warms itself up to battle the winter chill. ​