University of Fribourg

When lightweight composite materials are used in fields such as aerospace, it's vitally important to know if they're experiencing mechanical stress – before they fail. A new composite is able to do so, simply by fluorescing under UV light.

​It's always helpful if materials let you know when they're under stress, so that changes can be made before catastrophic failures occur. A new polymer is designed to provide such a warning, as it glows when stretched.

An organism that is pretty good at generating biocompatible power (for itself, at least) is the electric eel, and scientists have now used the high-voltage species as a blueprint for a promising new self-charging device that could one day power things like pacemakers and prosthetics.