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Category: materials – Page 29

Minuscule particles of plastic are not only bad for the environment. A study led from Umeå University, Sweden, has shown that the so-called nanoplastics which enter the body also can impair the effect of antibiotic treatment. The results also indicate that the nanoplastics may lead to the development of antibiotic resistance. Even the indoor air in our homes contains high levels of nanoplastics from, among other things, nylon, which is particularly problematic.

“The results are alarming considering how common nanoplastics are and because effective antibiotics for many can be the difference between life and death,” says Lukas Kenner, professor at the Department of Molecular Biology at Umeå University and one of the researchers who led the study.

Nanoplastics are plastic particles that are smaller than a thousandth of a millimetre. Due to their smallness, they can float freely in the air and have the ability to enter the body.

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A patient’s own blood could be used to help create a material potentially capable of repairing their broken bones, new research suggests.

Scientists have transformed blood into a substance which successfully repaired bones in animals, paving the way for personalised 3D-printed implants.

They suggest the new material has the potential to create regenerative blood products that could be used as effective therapies to treat injury and disease.

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This behavior is driven by quantum entanglement, a phenomenon where the fates of individual electrons become intertwined.

Scientists have developed theoretical models describing quantum spin liquids for many years. However, creating these materials in a laboratory setting has been a challenge.

This is because, in most materials, electron spins tend to settle into an ordered state, similar to the alignment seen in conventional magnets.

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Scientists have pioneered a new material based on ruthenium that demonstrates complex, disordered magnetic properties akin to those predicted for quantum spin liquids, an elusive state of matter.

This breakthrough in the study indicates significant potential for the development of quantum materials that transcend classical physical laws, providing new insights and applications in the quantum realm.

Novel Quantum Materials

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Addressing the challenge of controlling electronic states in materials, the scientific community has been exploring innovative methods. Recently, researchers from Peking University, led by Professor Nanlin Wang, in collaboration with Professor Qiaomei Liu and Associate Research Scientist Dong Wu, uncovered how ultrafast lasers can manipulate non-volatile, reversible control over the electronic polar states in the charge-density-wave material EuTe4 at room temperature.

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Fatbergs threaten sewers, but RMIT engineers have created a protective concrete coating to tackle the issue.

This results in severe sewer blockages, with data indicating that half of all blockages occur in the United States and 40% in Australia.

The annual cost of maintenance and rehabilitation for these blockages is estimated at US$25 billion in the United States and A$100 million in Australia.

To tackle this problem, the researchers have developed zinc-enhanced polyurethane coating.

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