Self-healing

A substance known as calcium phosphate cement is commonly used to repair broken bones, both holding them together and encouraging the growth of new bone tissue. Now, scientists have added carbon fibers to the material to also make it self-healing.

​People with acute coughs should take honey and cough medicines before going to the doctor, official advice from the UK says. Coughs caused by cold and flu viruses, as well as viral bronchitis, should last around three weeks, and do not necessarily need a trip to the doctor, according to the advice.

​If cracks in concrete can be fixed when they're still tiny, then they can't become large cracks that ultimately cause structures to collapse. It is with this in mind that various types of self-healing concrete have been developed. One of the latest utilizes a type of fungus to do the healing.

A nano-spacecraft made from a silicon chip could make the journey to Alpha Centauri in just 20 years. The problem is, such a "space-chip" wouldn’t survive the intense radiation and temperature of space, so a NASA and KAIST team is developing a method for helping the chip heal itself on the fly.

One danger of space travel is fast-flying orbital debris piercing the ship's hull. Scientists may be on their way to a solution, however, in the form of a new self-healing material.

A team of MIT researchers has developed a new, self-healing hydrogel that doesn’t require surgical implantation, but can be injected using a syringe. The new gel, which can carry two drugs at once, allows for more convenient treatment of numerous conditions.

The chemical tree got a bit of a shake this week with scientists at IBM announcing the discovery of the first new class of polymer materials in decades. The new plastics have properties that could potentially have a huge impact in manufacturing, transportation, aerospace, and micro electronics.

Researchers at the University of Illinois have developed a regenerative plastic system that doesn't just self-repair minor cracks in plastic, but regenerates to heal large holes – and not just once, but multiple times.

Researchers have developed a new technique that brings self-healing capabilities to fiber-reinforced composite materials, like those used in airplanes and automobiles. The system relies on 3D vascular networks that release healing agents when ruptured.

Researchers at Germany's Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have developed a self-healing polymer that can mend itself and fully restore its mechanical properties in just a few minutes when heated at low temperatures.

The living skeletal muscle tissue grown by Duke University researchers is 10 times stronger than any previously bioengineered muscles. Not only does it contract as strongly and as rapidly as the real thing, but it's also capable of self-healing, both in the lab and after implantation into an animal.

Scientists are developing hybrid materials that are a cross between living bacterial cells and non-living components such as gold nanoparticles. The resulting "living materials" are able to respond to their environment like regular living cells, while also doing things like conducting electricity.