ScienceDaily: Matter & Energy News

Researchers have created a new type of fiber that can perform like a muscle actuator, in many ways better than other options that exist today. And, most importantly, these muscle-like fibers are simple to make and recycle.

The human body needs sleep as much as it needs food and water. Yet many people fail to get enough, causing both mind and body to suffer. People who struggle for shut-eye could benefit from monitoring their sleep, but they have limited options for doing so. One team describes a potential solution: a self-powering smart pillow that tracks the position of the head.

Studying ancient ocean floors could help us discover minerals needed to produce electric cars and solar panels.

With the accelerating evolution of technology, artificial intelligence (AI) plays a growing role in decision-making processes. Humans are becoming increasingly dependent on algorithms to process information, recommend certain behaviors, and even take actions of their behalf. A research team has studied how humans react to the introduction of AI decision making. Specifically, they explored the question, 'is society ready for AI ethical decision making?' by studying human interaction with autonomous cars.

Superconductors are materials with no electrical resistance whatsoever, commonly requiring extremely low temperatures. They are used in a wide range of domains, from medical applications to a central role in quantum computers. Superconductivity is caused by specially linked pairs of electrons known as Cooper pairs. So far, the occurrence of Cooper pairs has been measured indirectly macroscopically in bulk, but a new technique can detect their occurrence with atomic precision.

Researchers have determined chemical parameters that affect the rate of calcium phosphate ceramic conversion into hydroxyapatite in a simulated body fluid. Shorter carbon chain lengths in the phosphate ester facilitated faster remodeling than longer chains. These findings will help researchers design bone substitutes that better meet the needs of real medical practice and improve outcomes from bone repair surgeries.

Sustainable chemical applications need to be able to employ renewable energy sources, renewable raw materials, and earth-abundant elements. However, to date many techniques have only been possible with the use of expensive precious metals or rare earth metals, the extraction of which can have serious environmental impacts. A team of researchers has now achieved a breakthrough in the use of chromium, an abundant base metal.

Scientists have developed a stretchable and waterproof 'fabric' that turns energy generated from body movements into electrical energy.

A new high-performance computational model optimizing the design of large liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanks will lead to improved safety and security of storage facilities, with the bonus of reduced construction costs, according to new research.

An international team of laser physicists has achieved unprecedented control over light pulses in the mid-infrared wavelength range.