news 2020

Laser-based lights could replace lightbulbs thanks to an artificial 'fog' that scatters laser light, producing high brightness at low power. The new and improved laser-based lights could be used anywhere from indoor lighting and projectors to car headlights and outdoor floodlights. As they produce high brightness at low power, they would be more energy-efficient than regular lightbulbs or LEDs.

Scientists have developed a way of extracting a richer palette of colours from the available spectrum by harnessing disordered patterns inspired by nature that would typically be seen as black. Colours that we see in nature often come from nanoscale patterns that reflect light back in particular ways.

A new coating that activates in low intensity light to kill bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli has been developed by a UCL-led team of researchers. To stop the spread of disease, it could be used to coat phone screens and keyboards, as well as the inside of catheters and breathing tubes, which are a major source of healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs).

A technique based on the principles of MRI and NMR has allowed researchers to observe not only how next-generation batteries for large-scale energy storage work, but also how they fail, which will assist in the development of strategies to extend battery lifetimes in support of the transition to a zero-carbon future.

Imperial College researchers London have invented a new health tracking sensor for pets and people that monitors vital signs through fur or clothing Our stretchy, flexible invention heralds a whole new type of sensor that can track the health of animals and humans alike over fur or clothing. Dr Firat Guder Department of Bioengineering The new type of sensor, which can detect vital signs like heart and breathing rates through fur and up to four layers of clothing, could help make everyday wearables for pets and livestock a reality.

A new bendable supercapacitor made from graphene, which charges quickly and safely stores a record-high level of energy for use over a long period, has been developed and demonstrated by UCL and Chinese Academy of Sciences researchers. While at the proof-of-concept stage, it shows enormous potential as a portable power supply in several practical applications including electric vehicles, phones and wearable technology.

A new way of making bone-replacement materials that allows for cells to grow around and inside them has been developed by researchers at the University of Birmingham. The team adopted a novel approach called chemobrionics, in which chemical components are controllably driven to react together in specific ways, enabling the self-assembly of intricate bio-inspired structures.

Materials that can be precisely designed at the nanoscale could allow 'supercapacitors' to store more energy while maintaining their fast charge time. Researchers from the Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Imperial College London and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology performed simulations and experiments that show special electrode materials could be precisely engineered to produce supercapacitors that charge quickly and store more energy.

Heat can be converted to electricity more efficiently using nanowires as thin as atoms, according to new research Atomically thin nanowires conduct less heat and more electricity at the same time, yielding unprecedented conversion efficiency in comparison to the same bulk material Research opens up future routes into renewable energy from heat-to-electricity conversion Waste heat can be converted to electricity more efficiently using one-dimensi

Early Stone Age populations living up to 1.8 million years ago made complex decisions in selecting different types of stone to optimise a variety of cutting tools, according to a new study by UCL, University of Kent and the Centre for Human and Social Sciences, Spain. The study, published in the Journal of Royal Society Interface , offers new insight into the complexity of stone tool use, design and production.