Materials Sciences

Experiment reveals layers of data missed by traditional ink fingerprints

In the future, law enforcement officials may take full-colour fingerprints using new technology developed by a University of Toronto-led team of international researchers.

Far from the basic black-and-white fingerprints collected today, the new technology would use elastic photonic crystals to capture data-rich fingerprints in multiple colours, but the fingerprinting technique is just one potent

Scientists at the University of Liverpool have found how coffee can reduce the risk of alcohol-induced pancreatitis.

Pancreatitis is a condition in which the pancreas becomes inflamed, causing severe abdominal pain. It is often triggered by alcohol consumption which causes digestive enzymes to digest part of the pancreas.

Scientists have known for some time that coffee can reduce the risk of alcoholic pancreatitis, but have been unable to determine how. Researchers at

Materials science gets a nitride boost

Like modern day alchemists, materials scientists often turn unassuming substances into desirable ones. But instead of working metal into gold, they create strange new compounds that could make the electronic components of the future smaller, faster, and more durable. Alexander Goncharov of the Carnegie Institution’s Geophysical Laboratory and colleagues* have used extreme temperatures and pressures to make two durable compounds call

Liquid crystals, the same phase-shifting materials used to display information on cell phones, monitors and other electronic equipment, can also be used to report in real time on the differentiation of embryonic stem cells.

Differentiation is the process by which embryonic stem cells gradually turn into function-specific types of adult cells or so-called “cell lineages,” including skin, heart or brain cells.

The main challenge facing stem cell research is that of gui

An innovative strategy of mixing lipids and nanoparticles to produce new drug and agricultural materials and delivery vehicles has been developed by researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

“This is a new way to make nano-size capsules of a biologically friendly material,” said Steve Granick, a professor of materials science and engineering, chemistry and physics. “The hollow, deformable and biofunctional capsules could be used in drug delivery, colloidal-based b

Scientists at UCL (University College London) have discovered the area of the brain linked to dyscalculia, a maths learning disability. The finding shows that there is a separate part of the brain used for counting that is essential for diagnosis and an understanding of why many people struggle with maths.

The paper, published online today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), explains that an area of the brain widely thought to be involved in processing number