Exploring the nanoworld of biogenic gems
Project will develop new materials characterization tools and technologies to assign unique identifiers to individual pearls.
Resilient bug-sized robots keep flying even after wing damage
New repair techniques enable microscale robots to recover flight performance after suffering severe damage to the artificial muscles that power their wings.
Wiggling toward bio-inspired machine intelligence
Inspired by jellyfish and octopuses, PhD candidate Juncal Arbelaiz investigates the theoretical underpinnings that will enable systems to more efficiently adapt to their environments.
Researchers create the first artificial vision system for both land and water
Inspired by a fiddler crab eye, scientists developed an amphibious artificial vision system with a panoramic visual field.
Engineers repurpose 19th-century photography technique to make stretchy, color-changing films
The technique opens a door to manufacturing of pressure-monitoring bandages, shade-shifting fabrics, or touch-sensing robots.
Silk offers an alternative to some microplastics
Researchers have developed a biodegradable system based on silk to replace microplastics added to agricultural products, paints, and cosmetics.
Better living through multicellular life cycles
Researchers reveal how an algae-eating bacterium solves an environmental engineering challenge.
Robotic lightning bugs take flight
Inspired by fireflies, researchers create insect-scale robots that can emit light when they fly, which enables motion tracking and communication.
New plant-derived composite is tough as bone and hard as aluminum
The material could pave the way for sustainable plastics.
Peeking into a chrysalis, videos reveal growth of butterfly wing scales
The findings could inform the design of new materials such as iridescent windows or waterproof textiles.
Bio-inspired, blood-repelling tissue glue could seal wounds quickly
A new adhesive that mimics the sticky substance barnacles use to cling to rocks may offer a better way to treat traumatic injuries.
A material difference
A passion for biomaterials inspires PhD candidate Eesha Khare to tackle climate change.
Finding the love hormone in a stressed-out world
A new art/science collaboration uses molecular structures as its creative medium.
Stents inspired by paper-cutting art can deliver drugs to the GI tract
MIT engineers used kirigami-style etching to design a stent that can temporarily lodge in tubular organs to release drugs.
Synthetic gelatin-like material mimics lobster underbelly’s stretch and strength
The membrane’s structure could provide a blueprint for robust artificial tissues.