Matter & Energy

Sweat is a surprisingly rich seam of biological information that can help track prevalent health metrics such as blood glucose and stress levels. It can be used to detect blood alcohol levels too. However, getting samples of the fluid is not as easy as it sounds. Typically, people don't have as much conscious control over supplying a sweat sample as they might have with some other bodily fluids.

Platinum is a mid-table, stable, white metal prized for its use in jewelry and electronics. The metal has excellent conductive properties in addition to its good looks. However, the metal does not have other beneficial properties, thus limiting its use and value. For example, no form of platinum has ever been magnetic...that is, until now.

Everyday appliances, especially cell phones, tend to slip and fall into dangerously sticky and disgusting places, quite often — think washrooms, the kitchen, or public places! Stats reveal that, on average, a large percentage of smartphone owners damage their devices by dropping it. An interesting observation also found that 28% drop their mobiles into a liquid (usually water), and about 8% spill food/drink on their phones.

People who have taken to the idea of alternative energy and are considering using it as a power source may be interested in this piece of news: Tesla, the popular electric car manufacturer, has been designing solar roof tiles, and they are now available to consumers in California! These branded panels, when installed, absorb power from the sun and convert it into electricity for homes.

Long-term recovery from conditions involving the abuse of substances, such as alcohol, can be an incredibly difficult thing to achieve. Many people who benefit from it could be aided by devices or techniques that help track their abstinence (or lack thereof, occasionally) over time.

Patients with certain conditions undergo regular diagnostic procedures such as electroencephalograms (EEGs) in order to track their health. Over time, the equipment used to deliver such readings has evolved to enhance comfort and convenience. These advancements have been made possible by chemical engineering and materials sciences.

Carbon nanotubes are one of the world's newest supermaterials. They can be used in electronics, medical research, material science, and even water purification.

“We were inspired both by science fiction and science fact – seeing dinosaurs disappear and reappear under an infrared camera in ‘Jurassic World’ and seeing squid filmed underwater do similar things.”- Alon Gorodetsky, professor at UCI Cephalopods, the class of marine animals including squids, octopuses and cuttefish, have a specialized mechanism of escaping from their prey or while signaling — camouflage.

Biological and chemical nanoengineers are faced with the problem of getting molecules to take the shapes they want towards certain applications.

In the coming years, with groundbreaking research in the interdisciplinary areas of science, medicine, healthcare and technology, it is possible that chemical batteries we are familiar with will be completely replaced. Reasons to seek alternatives include bulkiness, instability in extremes of temperature, toxicity of chemicals and low sustenance.

The increased need for, and the implementation of renewable or clean energy, questions the premise of its safety and reliability because it brings about the possibility of being threatened by hackers by way of theft or cyberattacks. The magnitude of real-time data and the distributed generation of energy make for easy gateways.

What if we could generate all the energy required to power the whole of civilization, just using wind turbines? It might sound far-fetched but new research published this week has suggested that this scenario is not entirely unrealistic. A new location for wind farms It would however, require some significant changes to the location of wind farms – placing these far out in deep water areas of our oceans, as opposed to on land or relatively near to the shore.