Important Innovations Collection

  FDA Approves Moderna COVID Vaccine                                                                                Source:  Ellume COVID Test FDA Okays Australia's Home Diagnostic Test For COVID The FDA has given emergency approval to Moderna's COVID vaccine, making it the second COVID vaccine, along with Pfizer's,  available in the US.  The vaccine is 95% effective and is available to adults, while trials are expanded for teenagers. Meanwhile, the Australian diagnostic test company Ellume has scored a big win.  The FDA has approved its over the counter, at home,  COVID-19 test.  This is the first COVID-19 test approved for use at home.  Ellume Home COVID Test The system uses a nasal swab to collect data, analy...

"Artificial Chameleon Skin" Source:  University of Cambridge Big Advance in Nanotechnology to Mimic Nature From scientists at the University of Cambridge in the UK a new innovative material that changes color when exposed to heat or light. The team calls it "artificial chameleon skin" and says it has wide application from active camouflage to large-scale dynamic displays.  The skin is powered by nanomachines.  The scientists say their work represents a big advance in using nanoscale technology to do biomimicry or mimic nature. Dramatic Color Changes The scientific inspiration came from color changing animals like chameleons and in particular their color changing skin cells, chromatophores.  The team essentially created artificial chromatophores by using tiny particles of gold, coating it with a polymer shell and then squeezing it into tiny drops of water in oil.  When exposed to heat or light, the nanoparticles stick together and dramaticall...

New Material Developed by UPenn , U of Cambridge UK & International Team Source: University of Pennsylvania Brand New Material With Great Potential This is breakthrough innovation in Materials Science.  It's a porous 'metallic wood" as strong as titanium and 5-times lighter.  The developers - scientists at the University of Pennsylvania, University of Illinois and the University of Cambridge UK - say the new material can be used for aircraft wings, prosthetic legs, batteries, among many other things. 'Metallic Wood' Their research has just been published in the journal Nature Scientific Reports.  They've built a sheet of nickel with nanoscale pores that make it as strong as titanium but much lighter.  The metal pores make it similar to natural wood and that's why it's being called "metallic wood". Discovery Process Here's the process. The scientists suspended tiny spheres in water.  As the water evaporated, the spheres f...