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Stainless Steel Catalyst Lowers Cost of Microbial Fuel Cells

(PhysOrg.com) -- Tiny bacteria munching on and metabolizing biodegradable materials can produce electrons that could be harnessed by microbial fuel cells for energy. By taking advantage of the...

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Scientists unveil chocolate-fueled race car

(AP) -- Scientists unveiled on Tuesday what they hope will be one of the world's fastest biofuel vehicles, powered by waste from chocolate factories and made partly from plant fibers.

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Study: Biodegradable products may be bad for the environment

Research from North Carolina State University shows that so-called biodegradable products are likely doing more harm than good in landfills, because they are releasing a powerful greenhouse gas as they...

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How biomaterial performance can be programmed and predicted

(PhysOrg.com) -- Biomaterials, in particular biodegradable materials, are increasingly used in medicine. These materials serve on their own as structural support and replacement, and as platforms for...

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Researchers develop versatile synthetic platform to produce biodegradable...

(Phys.org) -- Despite significant advances, the development of synthetic biomaterials still presents significant challenges in the field of biomedical engineering. Although synthetic biodegradable...

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New harvesting approach boosts energy output from bacteria

A team of scientists from University of Colorado Denver has developed a novel energy system that increases the amount of energy harvested from microbial fuel cells (MFCs) by more than 70 times. The new...

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BioSolar announces first sale of BioBacksheet—solar panel part made from...

(Phys.org) —BioSolar Inc. maker of solar panel components has announced it has made its first sale of a new product it calls the BioBacksheet—an all natural material that can be used as a backsheet...

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Surfaces inspired by geckos can be switched between adhesive and non-adhesive...

Adhesives inspired by the gecko can be made to switch on and off reversibly and repeatedly. The key design parameters for these materials are identified in a study published in Journal of the Royal...

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Recycling orbital satellites

No matter how painstakingly we choose the materials to build satellites, once a mission is over they are just so much junk. But what if one day they could be recycled in space for future missions –...

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Battery dissolves in water, holds promise for biomedical implants

(Phys.org) —Biomedical engineers are working on drug delivery devices that can be implanted. Now scientists have come up with a way to power such devices inside the body. Their design is capable of...

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New biodegradable packaging could help slash global plastic consumption

Scientists at Deakin University's Institute for Frontier Materials are turning by-products of wood and wool into biodegradable packaging to help slash global plastic consumption.

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New silicon peptide biopolymers

Copolymers made from synthetic and biomimetic components open new and interesting perspectives as biocompatible, biodegradable materials that can also be given biological functionality. In the journal...

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Researchers develop new way to manufacture nanofibers

Researchers at the University of Georgia have developed an inexpensive way to manufacture extraordinarily thin polymer strings commonly known as nanofibers. These polymers can be made from natural...

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Silk-based optical waveguides meet biomedical needs

There is a growing need for biocompatible photonic components for biomedical applications - from in vivo glucose monitoring to detecting harmful viruses or the telltale markers of Alzheimer's. Optical...

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Assessing antibiotic breakdown in manure

Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientist Scott Yates is studying how oxytetracycline (OTC), an antibiotic that is administered to animals, breaks down in cattle manure.

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New trash-to-treasure process turns landfill nuisance into plastic

With billions of pounds of meat and bone meal going to waste in landfills after a government ban on its use in cattle feed, scientists today described development of a process for using that so-called...

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Researchers inject nanofiber spheres carrying cells into wounds to grow tissue

For the first time, scientists have made star-shaped, biodegradable polymers that can self-assemble into hollow, nanofiber spheres, and when the spheres are injected with cells into wounds, these...

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Orange peels could be made into biodegradable plastic

Plastic waste is one of the worst forms of trash because it takes so long to degrade, thus overflowing our landfills and polluting our oceans and waterways. But what if we could make plastic from a...

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As strong as an insect's shell

Harvard researchers at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering have come up with a tough, low-cost, biodegradable material inspired by insects’ hard outer shells. The material’s...

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Super-microbes engineered to solve world environmental problems

Environmental problems, such as depleting natural resources, highlight the need to establish a renewable chemical industry. Metabolic engineering enhances the production of chemicals made by microbes...

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Food nets vanishing without a trace

Scientists are creating compostable versions food nets to be used with compostable products to ensure that, at the end of their life, they serve the purpose of helping to grow food, thus closing their...

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Bioglass helping to mend bones

Jose Ramon Sarasua and Aitor Larrañaga, researchers in the materials engineering department of the UPV/EHU-University of the Basque Country, have been studying new materials or implants that are of...

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BotObjects announces first full color 3D printer— ProDesk3D

(Phys.org) —Co-founders of a company called botObjects have announced on their website, the development of a full color 3D printer, the first of its kind. Until now, most 3D printers have been either...

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Biogas from animal waste in need of maturity

Biogas-based energy could solve both the environmental concern of agricultural waste and reduce dependency of fossil fuels, particularly in Eastern Europe, albeit at a steep production cost.

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Microencapsulation produces uniform drug release vehicle

Consistently uniform, easily manufactured microcapsules containing a brain cancer drug may simplify treatment and provide more tightly controlled therapy, according to Penn State researchers.

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Biodegradable cabinet: A new approach to sustainability

A furniture design academic from Sheffield Hallam University has started creating furniture made from 100 per cent biodegradable material, which can be composted at the end of its lifespan.

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Toward dissolvable electronics for implants and sensors

Tiny electronic sensors and devices that can be implanted in the body and then dissolve almost without a trace are getting closer to reality. Scientists have tested several biodegradable materials,...

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South Pacific Islanders may have used obsidian 3,000 years ago to make tattoos

(Phys.org)—A trio of researchers has found evidence of obsidian tools being crafted for use in creating tattoos approximately 3,000 years ago by South Pacific Islanders. In their paper published in the...

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Synthetic biology to help colonize Mars

Shannon Dangle finished her PhD ready to take on a new challenge and set her sights on research to help make Mars colonization possible. But she isn't pursuing research on rocket fuels or space suits....

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