Origami

If you're trying to distribute environmental sensors over a wide area by dropping them from a drone, you don't want them all landing in the same place. With that fact in mind, University of Washington scientists have created origami "microfliers."

Researchers in Germany have developed a new method to treat viral infections by making traps. The team folded DNA into nano-capsules with specialized binding points inside them, which could grab hold of viruses and render them inert.

When plants perform movements such as curling their leaves, they do so by drawing water into the cellulose fibers in that part of their "body." Scientists have now replicated that technique to produce self-folding paper structures.

Danish design duo Sebastian Aristotelis and Karl-Johan Sørensen have been busy developing a self-expanding lunar module, which they plan on putting to the test in the harsh environment of Northern Greenland later this year.

Researchers have developed a tiny origami robot that is swallowed as a capsule, then unfolds in true Transformer style to patch a wound or remove foreign objects, such as button batteries.

Brigham Young University researchers are developing an origami-inspired folding solar array that's compact at launch, expanding to around 10 times its size once it's deployed in outer space. When developed, it will fold down to a diameter of 2.7 m (9 ft) and unfold to about 25 m (80 ft) across.

An origami fractal made out of almost 50,000 business cards is the first physical representation of the Mosely Snowflake three-dimensional fractal in the world.

In a world where concern for the environment is high on the agenda, it was only a matter of time before the laptop got a green makeover.