News by Subject Technology & Engineering

Researchers at Texas A&M University are pushing organ-on-a-chip devices to new levels that could change the way clinicians approach cancer treatment, particularly ovarian cancer. A team has recently submitted a patent disclosure with the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station.

As reported in Advanced Photonics, researchers from Shanghai University and Fudan University developed a general framework and metadevices for achieving dynamic control of THz wavefronts. Instead of locally controlling the individual meta-atoms in a THz metasurface (e.g., via PIN diode, varactor, etc.), they vary the polarization of a light beam with rotating multilayer cascaded metasurfaces.

A phenomenon known from quantum systems could now make its way into biology: In a new study published in Physical Review X, researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization (MPI-DS) in Goettingen show that the notion of topological protection can also apply to biochemical networks. The model which the scientists developed makes the topological toolbox, typically used only to describe quantum systems, now also available to biology.

The EU funded project DAFNE has developed a methodology for avoiding conflicts of use in transboundary rivers. The model-?based procedure allows for participatory planning and cooperative management of water resources. The aim is now for the DAFNE methodology to be implemented in other regions of the world.

Researchers at Aalto University have used lignin, a natural polymer abundant in wood and other plant sources, to create a safe, low-cost and high-performing coating for use in construction. As there is a global urge to meet the rising sustainability standards, this new coating has great potential to protect wood, whose use in construction is continually increasing. The new coating is non-toxic, hydrofobic, it retains wood's breathability and natural roughness while being resistant to colour changes and abrasion.