Materials

Spots and stripes serve many purposes in nature, but how they form has been more of a mystery. Now, researchers have advanced their breakthrough theory – and it could help us design materials that can respond to the environment and change color on demand.

We think of ice as just frozen water. It is simple, solid. But water is a master of disguise. With just two atoms, hydrogen and oxygen, it can freeze into more than 20 different types of ice. Now, scientists have discovered a new, stranger type of ice.

Back in 1954, archaeologists uncovered a hidden shrine deep beneath a Greek settlement. Inside, they found bronze jars holding a waxy, scented paste. Sealed with cork and marked with traces on their surfaces, the vessels held a sticky secret.

While we're used to seeing cigarette butts littering public roads, such butts may soon be making their way into those roads, strengthening them in the process. It's all part of a recycling effort, which should also reduce the need for road repairs.

A platinum fiddle that's just 35 microns in length and 13 microns in width is believed to be the world's smallest violin, measuring just a fraction of a microscopic tardigrade. But before you get too excited, there's one little twist …

Researchers have genetically modified spiders for the first time using the CRISPR gene-editing process. Adding a single gene to unfertilized eggs resulted in the creation of a spider that could produce red, fluorescent silk.

As much as wind turbines are great for producing clean energy, disposing of them when the time comes can be challenging. Researchers in China have hit upon a clever way to use discarded blades to build long-lasting roads.

Scientists have accidentally discovered a particle that has mass when traveling in one direction, but no mass while moving in a different direction. Known as semi-Dirac fermions, particles with this bizarre behavior were first predicted 16 years ago.

Under the right circumstances, electrons can actually “freeze” into a bizarre solid form. Now, physicists at Berkeley Lab have created and taken the first ever direct images of this structure.

Researchers at UC Berkeley have invented a material in powder form that adsorbs carbon dioxide with astonishing performance. Just 200 g (a little under 0.5 lb) can suck up 44 lb (20 kg) of CO2, the same as a tree does in a year.

A new type of carbon-neutral concrete has been commercially used for the first time, in a skyscraper being built in Manhattan. The binder utilized in the concrete is made of granite instead of traditional greenhouse-gas-emitting limestone cement.

Scientists have demonstrated a new potential treatment for bone cancer. A bioactive glass laced with a toxic metal was able to kill up to 99% of the cancer without harming healthy cells, and could even help regrow healthy bone after.