liquid metal

While intravenous needles need to be rigid in order to pierce the skin, that rigidity sometimes causes damage to the veins. A new needle addresses that issue by softening upon insertion into the patient's body.

Currently, small metal implants either have to be surgically removed from the body once they're no longer needed, or just left inside indefinitely. Now, however, scientists have devised a method of breaking them down in place using liquid metal.

Researchers have created a new platinum catalyst that remains liquid at room temperature, by mixing tiny amounts with gallium. This new liquid catalyst performs reactions more efficiently than a solid platinum catalyst, using far less of the metal.

Long before computers existed, the Inca people kept records using knotted strings known as quipu. That technology has inspired a new system for assessing gastrointestinal problems, which is considerably less expensive than conventional methods.

A new method quickly converts carbon dioxide into solid carbon, which can be stored indefinitely or turned into useful materials. The technology works by bubbling CO2 up through a tube of liquid metal, and could be used at the source of emissions.

One of humanity’s biggest threats is also the smallest – bacteria. But now, researchers at RMIT in Australia have found a new method for killing these superbugs that they can’t resist – magnetic nanoparticles that physically tear them to shreds.

Capturing carbon from the air and sequestering it is emerging as a viable strategy, and now scientists have developed a new method to turn CO2 gas back into solid coal, that can then be buried, or even used for electronic components.

North Carolina State University researchers have developed a way to control the surface tension of liquid metals with the application of very low voltages. This may lead a new field of morphing electronic components or – maybe one day – even self-assembling, terminator-style robots.