Topic: material science
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Ex-OpenAI, Google Brain Team Raises $300M for AI Startup
Periodic Labs, founded by former OpenAI and Google Brain researchers, has raised $300 million to use AI for automating material science, integrating simulations, robotics, and large language models to propose, create, and analyze new compounds. The company's approach leverages AI to learn from al...
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Shape-Shifting Material Unlocked by a Simple Pull
Inspired by kirigami, researchers have developed a flat material that transforms into complex 3D structures with a single pull of a string, promising applications in medical devices, robotics, and space habitats. A computational algorithm converts a desired 3D shape into a flat, interconnected gr...
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Okosix Debuts Biodegradable Plastic at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025
The healthcare industry produces massive plastic waste, with U.S. facilities discarding over 2,800 tons of single-use plastics daily, inspiring entrepreneur Eddie Yu to seek sustainable solutions. Okosix, Yu's startup, has developed a cost-effective, high-performing biodegradable polymer from bio...
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Scientists Build Real-World Magnetic Cloaking Device for Complex Shapes
Engineers have developed a functional magnetic cloaking device that shields complex objects from detection, moving the technology from theory to practical application. The cloak, detailed in *Science Advances*, uses a composite shell to redirect magnetic fields, making enclosed objects invisible ...
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Why Okapa's $300 Water Bottle Costs So Much
Okapa's $295 water bottle positions itself as both a luxury status symbol and a hygiene innovation, using materials from medical and aerospace industries to justify its premium price. The bottle features eight years of R&D, over 10,000 prototypes, and 70+ patents, with a founder experienced in lu...
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Everbloom's AI Turns Chicken Feathers Into Cashmere
Traditional cashmere production faces sustainability issues due to over-shearing and high demand, creating a need for ethical alternatives. Startup Everbloom uses AI and keratin waste (like feathers and textile scraps) to engineer biodegradable fibers that mimic cashmere's qualities. Their proces...
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Fourth Power's Thermal Batteries Could Undercut Natural Gas Plants
Fourth Power is developing a thermal battery using superheated liquid tin and argon to store and release energy efficiently, aiming to make renewable energy more cost-effective than natural gas. The technology can supply power for about eight hours, twice the duration of most lithium-ion batterie...
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Apple's Foldable iPhone May Use Liquid Metal, Titanium
Apple's rumored foldable iPhone will feature a hinge made from durable liquid metal and a chassis using a next-generation titanium alloy, aiming for enhanced durability and reduced weight. The liquid metal hinge offers exceptional strength and fatigue resistance for repeated folding, while the re...
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Head(amame) Launches 3D-Printed Pro Headphones on Kickstarter
The Head(amame) Pro headphones are a professionally assembled, 3D-printed product offering high-fidelity audio at an accessible price, evolving from the brand's DIY kits. Key innovations include a glass diaphragm driver for precise sound tuning and a lightweight, open-backed design reinforced wit...
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X-Rays Uncover Kingfisher Feather Secrets
Scientists have revealed that the vibrant blue of kingfisher feathers, used in the historic Chinese art of *tian-tsui*, comes not from pigment but from nanostructures called photonic crystals, which manipulate light to create color. These natural photonic crystals are incredibly precise structure...
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Google's Quantum Breakthrough: Outpaces World's Fastest Supercomputers
Google has developed a quantum algorithm called Quantum Echoes that operates 13,000 times faster than current supercomputers, potentially advancing applications in medicine and materials science within five years. The algorithm is the first verifiable quantum algorithm, running on Google's Willow...
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The Challenge of Designing a Safer Football Helmet
The F7 Pro helmet is gaining adoption in the NFL, with over a third of players switching to it, as it aims to enhance safety amid ongoing concerns about head injuries in the sport. Despite technical innovations like the AiR-Lock fitting system and DNA Core for better impact absorption, player res...
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SpaceX's Starship Faces Same Critical Flaw That Doomed NASA Shuttles
SpaceX aims to catch returning spacecraft mid-air using mechanical arms to enable rapid reusability, a technique demonstrated with the Super Heavy booster. The primary challenge is perfecting Starship's heat shield to prevent tile loss and damage, requiring extensive testing and design improvemen...
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Night-Time Solar Power: The Future of Satellite Energy
Researchers are developing a "reverse solar panel" that generates electricity by emitting infrared light, aiming to capture energy from Earth's nighttime glow. The technology, a thermoradiative diode, has minimal power output on Earth but holds significant potential in space, where the extreme co...
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The Rare Earth Metal Fueling US-China Tensions
A supply crisis for the rare earth metal yttrium is escalating tensions between the U.S. and China, causing price surges and shipment delays that threaten advanced technology manufacturing globally. Yttrium is indispensable for its thermal and mechanical strength in critical applications like air...
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World's Smallest Autonomous Aquatic Robot
Researchers have created a fully autonomous robot smaller than a grain of salt, shattering a long-standing miniaturization barrier for independent machines. It uses a novel propulsion method, generating an electric field to move water around it, as traditional swimming is ineffective at microscop...
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