Polymer

In order to keep patients from developing opioid addictions, it's best if doctors can avoid prescribing the things in the first place. A new surgical patch could help, by gradually releasing painkillers right where they're needed.

When producing "smart fabrics" made of conductive fibers, it can be difficult placing functional elements such as electrodes in specific locations along those fibers. A new polymer, however, could make doing so much easier.

Ordinarily, when using an off-the-shelf 3D printer, it's quite difficult to print a single object that incorporates multiple materials. An experimental new system could make it easier, though, by utilizing a "programmable filament."

Optical fibers are already used in many fields, but they would have even more applications if they could be manufactured faster and cheaper. An experimental new process is claimed to deliver on both counts, and it uses mostly existing technologies.

Scientists at the National University of Science and Technology in Russia are developing a new bioactive polymer-ceramic composite derived from common eggshells that can be used to treat skull injuries and other surgical bone procedures.

Researchers have developed a new type of fabric that keeps the wearer much cooler. Made from different polymers in a relatively simple way, it can efficiently transfer heat and wick away sweat, while remaining water repellent from the outside.

Whenever someone receives an implant such as an artificial hip, there's always a risk that it won't integrate with the surrounding bone, ultimately causing it to separate and fail. A new coating, however, has been created to keep that from happening.

We've already heard about implantable materials with a scaffolding-like microstructure, that help heal broken bones by giving bone cells a place to migrate into. A new one could work even better, though, by also providing electrical stimulation.

When it comes to replacing faulty heart valves, there are two options – a metallic valve, or a biological one obtained from a pig or cow. There could soon be a third and perhaps better choice, though, in the form of a polymer replacement heart valve.

Chitin derived from shrimps, mushrooms, and other organisms may lead to new 3D-printed, multi-layered polymer coatings to protect soldiers against bullets, lasers, toxic gases, microbes, and other hazards.

As readers who live in cold climates will likely already know, winter is not kind to concrete. That could be about to change, though, thanks to a polymer additive that mimics natural antifreeze.

Found in crustacean shells, chitin is a useful natural polymer. Now, scientists have developed a fruit waste-based fermentation process for getting it out of those shells – and the technique results in better-quality chitin, to boot.