RMIT University

Changing up the recipe could help roads last longer. Researchers in Australia have now shown another advantage of adding rubber from old tires to asphalt – extra Sun protection that could help roads last up to twice as long before cracking.

Regrowing or replacing bone lost to disease is tricky and often painful. In a new study Australian researchers have found a relatively simple way to induce stem cells to turn into bone cells quickly and efficiently, using high-frequency sound waves.

If you're designing a plastic for applications such as food packaging, you want it to stay clean but you don't want it to stick around for centuries once discarded. A new lotus-leaf-inspired material may fit that bill.

While copper does kill bacteria on contact, it typically takes at least an hour to do the job thoroughly. Such is not the case with a new type of copper, however, which is said to eradicate almost 100 percent of harmful bacteria in just two minutes.

Nicotine is one of the more harmful compounds in electronic cigarette vapor, so non-vapers should avoid breathing it in whenever possible. A new skin-worn sensor could help, by monitoring airborne nicotine levels in the wearer's immediate vicinity.

Bandaged wounds need to be checked for infection, yet removing the bandage to check the wound can delay its healing. Australian scientists may have a fix for this paradox, in the form of a dressing that glows if the wound is infected.

Despite the fact that it's made of fermented raw pork, the Vietnamese meat snack Nem Chua does not cause food poisoning in people who eat it. In fact, new research suggests that a compound found in it could be used as a natural food preservative.

For some time now, we've been hearing about scaffolding-like implants that encourage bone tissue or cartilage to grow back into areas where it's missing. Now, scientists have developed a method for more quickly and easily 3D-printing such implants.

New weapons against so-called “superbugs” are desperately needed. A new black phosphorus coating quickly kills bacteria and fungi, then dissolves within 24 hours – and best of all, bacteria can’t evolve resistance against this mode of attack.

Scientists at RMIT University are continually coming up with ways to work recovered waste items into high-performing road materials. The latest is made with help from shredded face masks and they claim it offers some unique engineering advantages.

New research has continued to expand the possibilities in recycled concrete aggregates, with scientists coming up with a new manufacturing method that produces a concrete that is 35 precent stronger than traditional types.

By mimicking the curvy patterns found on lobster shells, scientists at Australia’s RMIT University have come up with 3D printing technique for concrete that affords it greater strength and could let taller and more complex structures be built.