INSIDER

A “programmable viscoelastic material” (PVM) from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) allows users to program every single part of a 3D-printed object, including exact levels of stiffness and elasticity.

A research team led by faculty scientist Ali Javey at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has created a transistor with a working 1-nanometer gate — the smallest to date.

Researchers from California Institute of Technology are proposing the idea of a modular space telescope that could be assembled by robots. The space observatory would have a primary mirror with a diameter of 100 meters — 40 times larger than the Hubble Space Telescope.

A new fabric developed at Georgia Institute of Technology uses sunlight and motion to harvest energy. Combining the two types of electricity generation into one textile paves the way for creating garments that could provide their own source of energy to power devices such as smartphones or global positioning...

A new spray-on material from engineers at The Australian National University (ANU) offers a more robust waterproofing capability than previous coatings. Combining two plastics, one tough and one flexible, the invention could eventually be used to protect mobile phones, de-ice airplane parts, or keep boat...

A low-cost, plastic-based textile from Stanford University engineers could cool the body efficiently when woven into clothing.

An innovative underground radar technology developed at Louisiana Tech University is helping the City of Slidell in south Louisiana to identify and document underground infrastructure damage that had gone undetected in the months and years following Hurricane Katrina.

In a University of Maryland study, researchers at the A. James Clark School of Engineering have demonstrated that windows made of transparent wood provide more consistent natural lighting and better energy efficiency than glass.

New research, developed in part by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, could someday be used to provide first responders and firefighters with real-time temperature, gas, and danger alerts.