Scientists from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) and Carnegie Mellon University in the U.S. have discovered how mechanical forces can influence the shapes of plant leaves and flower petals.
The discovery, published in Nature Materials, is the first chemically programmed approach to producing an artificial tissue. The findings, which could have major health applications in the future, could see chemically programmed ...
Biological materials from bone to spider-silk and wood are lightweight fibre composites arranged in a complex hierarchical structure, formed by directed self-assembly to demonstrate outstanding mechanical properties.
In materials science, the surface wettability of a biomaterial can be measured using the surface water contact angle as an important characterization of its hydrophilicity or hydrophobicity. The technique has attracted remarkable ...
Living organisms expand and contract soft tissues to achieve complex, 3-D movements and functions, but replicating those movements with man-made materials has proven challenging.
Thanks to special adhesive elements on their feet, geckos, spiders and beetles can easily run along ceilings or walls. The science of bionics has attempted to imitate and control such bio-inspired abilities for technological ...
With threats of sea level rise, storm surge and other natural disasters, researchers from Florida Atlantic University's College of Engineering and Computer Science are turning to nature to protect humans from nature. They ...
In the world of materials, rigidity and elasticity are usually on opposite ends of the continuum. Typically, the more elastic a material, the less able it is to bear loads and resist forces. The more rigid it is, the more ...
Nature has provided the inspiration for the design and fabrication of high-performance biomimetic engineering materials. Wood, which has been used for thousands of years, has received considerable attention due to the low ...
A range of creatures, including chameleons, octopuses and frogs, can change color in response to changes in the environment. Some insights into the mechanisms behind this at the anatomical, cellular and molecular levels have ...
