Researchers found that certain patterns might be used to repel sharks

By Maja Bosanac
29 July 2013

sams-sharksuit-1Collaboration between world-leading shark researchers at the University of Western Australia (UWA) and researchers at biotechnology company Shark Attack Mitigation Systems (SAMS) resulted in development of wetsuits designed to either confuse sharks or make surfers and divers invisible to them. In order to create wetsuits that may decrease life-threatening attacks on humans, researchers have used… »

Silk brain implants may reduce the progression of epilepsy

By Maja Bosanac
One Comment28 July 2013

silk-implant-epilepcy-1A group of researchers at Legacy Research Institute, Oregon Health and Sciences University (OHSU) and Tufts University have developed silk implants that they have placed in the brain of laboratory rats in order to reduce the progression of epilepsy. These silky brain implants are designed to release adenosine (ADO) – a specific chemical compound which… »

Wet-spun graphene oxide flakes create a more robust carbon fiber

By Damir Beciri
27 July 2013

carbon-fiber-knots-1Relying on large flakes of graphene oxide that were developed back in 2010 at the Rice University, Rice researchers developed a new carbon fiber with improved strength of its knots. This more robust carbon fiber could be used to increase the strength of many products that use carbon fiber, such as composite materials used in… »

Making biofuel from native Australian microscopic algae

By Maja Bosanac
One Comment26 July 2013

sbrc-pond-measurements-1Collaboration between researchers at the University of Queensland (UQ) with researchers at Germany’s Bielefeld University and Karlsruhe Institute of Technology resulted in identification of a fast-growing microscopic algae that could be used in production of cheaper and more efficient biofuel. Newly tested algae species native to Australia provide real hope for the development of commercially… »

Using phthaloyl peroxide to streamline the manufacture of phenols

By Damir Beciri
26 July 2013

wine-glass-1Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin and University of California, Los Angeles, have discovered a new chemical reaction that has the potential to lower the cost and streamline the manufacture of compounds ranging from agricultural chemicals to pharmaceutical drugs. The reaction resolves a long-standing challenge in organic chemistry in creating phenolic compounds from… »

Microbial Fuel Cells use urine to power a cell phone

By Damir Beciri
3 Comments23 July 2013

mobile-urine-1Researchers at the Bristol Robotics Laboratory (BRL), a collaborative research partnership of the University of the West of England and the University of Bristol, have developed a novel way to charge mobile phones by using urine as the power source which generates electricity. The system generates enough power to enable SMS messaging, web browsing and… »

STATINA uses vibration to enable information interaction on solid flat surfaces

By Damir Beciri
One Comment22 July 2013

statina-1We already wrote about various new ways for information interaction, and a group of researchers at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) developed a low cost system which allows conversion of virtually any flat solid surface around us into a touch sensitive surface. The system relies on the principles of vibration and imaging, and it is… »

Machine turns sweat into potable water

By Maja Bosanac
One Comment21 July 2013

unicef-sweat-machine-1Collaboration between Swedish engineer Andreas Hammar with researchers at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm and the water purification company HVR resulted in development of the first machine that extracts people’s sweat from clothes, purifies it and transforms it into potable water. It uses a water purification technology called membrane distillation. The inspiration for… »