Researchers have developed a new class of materials called “glassy gels,” which are extremely hard and difficult to break despite containing over 50% liquid. The simplicity of producing glassy gels makes them promising for various applications. A paper titled “Glassy Gels Toughened by Solvent,” detailing this work, appears in the journal Nature.

Traditionally, gels and glassy polymers are viewed as distinct materials. Glassy polymers are hard, stiff, and often brittle, used in products like water bottles and airplane windows. Gels, such as contact lenses, contain liquid and are soft and stretchy. “We’ve created a class of materials that we’ve termed glassy gels, which are as hard as glassy polymers but can stretch up to five times their original length without breaking,” says Michael Dickey, the corresponding author of the paper and the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at North Carolina State University. “What’s more, once the material has been stretched, you can return it to its original shape by applying heat. Additionally, the surface of the glassy gels is highly adhesive, which is unusual for hard materials.”

A groundbreaking new material made from barley starch blended with fiber from sugarbeet waste—a robust substance that composts if it ends up in nature—has been developed at the University of Copenhagen. In the long term, the researchers hope that their invention can help curb plastic pollution while reducing the climate footprint of plastic production.

Enormous islands of plastic float in our oceans, and microscopic particles infiltrate our bodies. The durability, malleability, and low cost of plastics have made them ubiquitous, from packaging to clothing to aircraft parts. However, plastics have significant downsides: they contaminate nature, are difficult to recycle, and their production emits more CO2 than all air traffic combined.

Researchers at the ATLAS Institute at the University of Colorado Boulder have developed an innovative DIY machine that produces textile fibers from sustainable materials, such as gelatin. This machine could revolutionize the fashion industry by offering a solution to the significant environmental impact of textile waste.

Led by doctoral student Eldy Lázaro Vásquez, the research team has created a machine capable of spinning textile fibers from gelatin, a protein commonly derived from animal byproducts. These fibers feel similar to flax and can dissolve in hot water within minutes to an hour, providing a sustainable alternative to traditional textiles, which often end up in landfills.

Wayve, a leading innovator in Embodied AI for self-driving technologies, has announced the launch of PRISM-1, a groundbreaking 4D reconstruction model designed to significantly enhance the testing and training of its Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and autonomous driving technology. PRISM-1 represents a major advancement in 4D reconstruction, enabling scalable and realistic resimulations of complex driving scenes with minimal engineering or labeling input.

First showcased in December 2023 through Wayve’s Ghost Gym neural simulator, PRISM-1 employs novel view synthesis to create precise 4D scene reconstructions (3D in space plus time) using only camera inputs. This method promises to revolutionize simulation for autonomous driving by accurately and efficiently simulating the dynamics of complex and unstructured real-world environments. PRISM-1 powers the next generation of Ghost Gym simulations and departs from traditional methods that rely on LiDAR and 3D bounding boxes. Instead, it uses novel view synthesis techniques to accurately depict moving elements such as pedestrians, cyclists, vehicles, and traffic lights, capturing precise details like clothing patterns, brake lights, and windshield wipers.