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Articles archive for February 2012

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Creating nanofibers like cotton candy

By Damir B.
29 February 2012
rjs-rotary-jet-spinning

Bioengineers at Harvard University came up with a new technology with a great potential in nanofibers production, and they refer to it as a “cross between a high-speed centrifuge and a cotton candy machine”. The invention could find many uses in industry, with potential applications ranging from artificial organs and tissue regeneration to clothing and ... »

Bionics| Tech»

Using bacteria mechanism to create bonds

By Damir B.
One Comment26 February 2012
pnas-oxford-university-spytag-spycatcher-1

Researchers from the University of Oxford managed to create a bio-inspired superglue with unmatched performance by engineering an unusual protein from Streptococcus pyogenes – a type of bacteria that can cause mild infections as well as some life-threatening diseases. The modified protein enables sticking molecules, proteins or enzymes together to build new structures on the ... »

Tech»

More environmentally friendly and less costly cement developed

By Damir B.
22 February 2012
msu-glass-cement

Two separate research groups have applied two different approaches to improve cement in order to make it more durable and greener. Researchers from the Michigan State University have found that mixing ground waste glass into the cement makes resulting concrete stronger, more durable and more resistant to water, while Drexel University researchers found a way ... »

Tech»

Low-power LSIs for wideband millimeter-wave wireless communications at 6.3 Gb/s

By Dag G.
22 February 2012
sony-6gbps

In recent years, enhancements in the multimedia quality increased the demand for wireless communication speeds which lead to increased need for more frequencies, especially for ones bellow 6 GHz band. A joint development from National University Corporation, Tokyo Institute of Technology and Sony resulted with a radio frequency (RF) LSI and a baseband (BB) LSI ... »

Tech»

inFarming project promotes plant cultivation in existing buildings

By Dag G.
One Comment19 February 2012
infarming-ny-1

The flat roofs of many buildings as well as some unused floors in some buildings could be used for hydroponic gardening. Aside needed space, the plants growing there could also rely on building‘s waste heat and cleaned waste water. Researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety and Energy Technology (UMSICHT) are developing their solution ... »

Bionics| Tech»

Spider web inspires new medical materials

By Damir B.
One Comment17 February 2012
orb-spider-web

We already published several articles about studies where spiders served as inspiration for biomimicry and analysis, but the new study by the researchers from the University of Akron developed the new biocompatible synthetic material similar to a specific kind of silk spun by orb spiders. The material could be used as new kinds of medical ... »

Robotics| Tech»

Pop-up books inspire new fabrication method for small and complex devices

By Damir B.
16 February 2012
pop-up-fabrication-of-the-harvard-monolithic-bee-mobee

Engineers at Harvard University developed a new technique inspired by pop-up books which enables rapid fabrication of a broad range of electromechanical devices through layering and folding process. The method is also useful for parallel fabrication of Monolithic Bee (also known as “Mobee”) microrobots which rely on PARITy drivetrain we described in one of our ... »