Glass might soon face competition from an unlikely contender: bamboo. Scientists in China have transformed regular bamboo into a transparent material that is also resistant to fire and water and suppresses smoke.

Traditionally, silica glass, made from sand, is the preferred building material for applications requiring transparency and strength, such as windows. However, it is not particularly sustainable and can be heavy and brittle. Transparent wood has emerged as a viable alternative in recent years. By chemically removing lignin from wood fibers and treating the remaining material with plexiglass or epoxy, researchers have created a transparent, renewable material that rivals or exceeds the strength of glass while being lighter and a better thermal insulator.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully completed a long-duration test of its PS4 engine, which has been re-engineered using advanced additive manufacturing (AM) techniques, commonly known as 3D printing. This breakthrough was achieved with the collaboration of Indian industry, ISRO announced on Friday.

The newly designed engine, now a single piece, offers remarkable efficiency improvements, saving 97% of raw materials and reducing production time by 60%. This milestone was marked by a successful hot test of the liquid rocket engine, which was manufactured using AM technology and operated for 665 seconds on May 9, according to an official release from ISRO.