Researchers at the Berkeley Lab have developed the first fully integrated nanosystem for artificial photosynthesis. In the wake of the sobering news that atmospheric carbon dioxide is now at its highest level in at least three million years, an important advance in the race to develop carbon-neutral renewable energy sources has been achieved. Scientists with [...]

Making use of the unique physical properties of bosons, Stanford physicists have created an electrically driven polariton laser that uses less power than conventional lasers and could one day be used in many places from consumer goods to quantum computers. Lasers are an unseen backbone of modern society. They’re integral to technologies ranging from high-speed [...]

A biomedical engineering design team from Michigan Tech has developed an inexpensive skin patch that warns the wearer when it’s time to get out of the sun to avoid getting sunburn. By the time most of us realize we’ve been out in the sun too long, it’s too late. It can take up to 24 [...]

By combining layers of flexible materials into pressure sensors, engineers have developed a wearable heart monitor that is thinner than a dollar bill. Most of us don’t ponder our pulses outside of the gym. But doctors use the human pulse as a diagnostic tool to monitor heart health. Zhenan Bao, a professor of chemical engineering [...]

Researchers at the University at Buffalo are working on the development of organic photovoltaics that use polymers and small molecules that are carbon-based and can be applied in liquid form over large areas, reducing the cost and possibly becoming as inexpensive as paint. Buffalo, New York – Most Americans want the U.S. to place more [...]

Scientists from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology have constructed a micro-structured thermal cloak that molds the flow of heat around an object. By means of special metamaterials, light and sound can be passed around objects. KIT researchers now succeeded in demonstrating that the same materials can also be used to specifically influence the propagation of [...]

By designing a broadband metamaterial that more than doubles the range of wavelengths of light that can be manipulated, Stanford scientists have taken an important step toward designing a metamaterial that works across the entire visible spectrum. All natural materials have a positive index of refraction – the degree to which they refract light. The [...]

By adding a squaraine dye into polymer solar cells that are based on Forster resonance energy transfer, Yale scientists achieved a 38 percent increase in power conversion efficiency, opening up a new avenue for the development of high-efficiency polymer solar cells. For some solar cells, the future may be fluorescent. Scientists at Yale have improved [...]

A new study and video details the first controlled flight of robotic RoboBees. Last summer, in a Harvard robotics laboratory, an insect took flight. Half the size of a paper clip, weighing less than a tenth of a gram, it leapt a few inches, hovered for a moment on fragile, flapping wings, and then sped [...]

Researchers at Princeton created a 3D printed “bionic” ear that exhibits enhanced auditory sensing for radio frequency reception, merging biologic and nanoelectronic functionalities via 3D printing. Scientists at Princeton University used off-the-shelf printing tools to create a functional ear that can “hear” radio frequencies far beyond the range of normal human capability. The researchers’ primary [...]

A newly published study describes a new approach to converting non-food based biomass into fuels, allowing researchers to generate a range of alkanes from a variety of biomass-derived molecules. Los Alamos, New Mexico — One of the more promising roads to energy independence leads away from crude oil and into the forests and fields. For [...]

In a new study, a team of researchers report the development of a new street lighting design that harnesses high-efficiency LEDs and ensures they shine only where they’re needed, cutting light pollution and glare and saving energy. Washington — Streetlights illuminate the night, shining upon roadways and sidewalks across the world, but these ubiquitous elements [...]