Healing the iPhone's wounds

Pitt researchers propose 'repair-and-go' method for small-scale cracks on digital device surfaces

2012-01-11

(Press-News.org) PITTSBURGH -- Like the human body, a digital device often suffers a few bruises and scratches within a lifetime. As in medicine, these injuries can be easily detected and repaired (or healed). At other times, however, a digital device may sustain hard-to-pinpoint nanoscale scratches, which can cause the device as a whole to malfunction.

In a paper published today, Jan. 10, in Nature Nanotechnology, a team of researchers from the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass) propose a "repair-and-go" approach to fixing malfunctions caused by small-surface cracks on any digital device or part before it hits store shelves.

"Anything that's a machine with a surface is affected by these small-scale cracks," said Anna Balazs, Distinguished Professor of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering in Pitt's Swanson School of Engineering and coinvestigator on the project. "These are surfaces that play a role in almost anything, especially functionality."

The Pitt-UMass research team approach was inspired by the ability of white blood cells in the body to heal wounds on-site. Balazs and Pitt colleagues first came up with a theoretical "repair-and-go" method: A flexible microcapsule filled with a solution of nanoparticles would be applied to a damaged surface; it would then repair defects by releasing nanoparticles into them. Using nanoparticles and droplets of oil stabilized with a polymer surfactant—compounds that lower the surface tension of a liquid—the UMass team actualized the theory, showing that these microcapsules found the cracks and delivered the nanoparticle contents into them. Balazs proposes that manufacturers use this method as a last step in the building process.

"The repair-and-go method can extend the lifetime of any system or device," she said. "Additionally, it could be used as a repair method after a crack has been found."

###Original research by Balazs and her team was published in ACS Nano and then reported on in Nature Nanotechnology's "News and Views" section in September 2010. To read more about the healing process of devices, visit http://www.nature.com/nnano/journal/v5/n4/abs/nnano.2010.66.html.

To read the paper published today, visit http://www.nature.com/nnano.

1/10/11/amm/lks/jdh

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Register as a Sex Offender for a Non-Sex Crime Conviction?

2012-01-11

In Texas, it is possible to be considered a sex offender and forced to register as such without committing a sex offense. Upon parole, parolees who committed offenses that are defined as reportable convictions or adjudications under Texas law can be forced to register as a sex offender and have other restrictive conditions imposed upon them. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, upholding a trial court ruling, however, held that parolees who were not convicted of a sex offense cannot be labeled and forced to register as sex offenders without a hearing. The court stated ...

High rates of disability and health care use found in older Americans with cirrhosis

2012-01-11

Older patients with cirrhosis have significant functional disability, require twice the amount of informal caregiving, and contribute added strain on the health care system, according to U-M research published in Hepatology. Given the increase in obesity and aging of those with hepatitis C (HCV), researchers expect the prevalence of cirrhosis to climb among older Americans.. Cirrhosis is a chronic condition that causes the liver to slowly deteriorate, with scar tissue replacing healthy tissue and impairing liver function. Studies have shown that non-alcoholic fatty ...

Inflammation may link obesity and adverse pregnancy outcomes

2012-01-11

Amsterdam, NL -- A number of different immunological mechanisms ensure the successful establishment and maintenance of pregnancy. Imbalance in these mechanisms is associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes. In a review published in Advances in Neuroimmune Biology, researchers from the Institute of Life Science, College of Medicine at Swansea University in the UK examine the impact of maternal obesity on the inflammatory responses in tissues of both the mother and the child. "While great progress has been made in elucidating the immunological mechanisms that ensure reproductive ...

FTC Rules on Deceptive Debt Relief Practices Continue to Evolve

2012-01-11

They are wolves posing as shepherds. Companies that claim they will lead you out of debt quickly and often just want to take your last dollar -- leaving you more exposed to creditors than ever. If the economy weren't so bad, these companies would be more recognizable for what they really are: predators. But debt and desperation have a way of playing tricks with your vision. What seems like a viable way out from a mountain of debt can turn out to be a counter-productive mirage unless you're careful at avoiding fraud and finding the legitimate services you need. Keep ...

NASA'S RXTE helps pinpoint launch of 'bullets' in a black hole's jet

2012-01-11

Using observations from NASA's Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) satellite and the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) radio telescope, an international team of astronomers has identified the moment when a black hole in our galaxy launched super-fast knots of gas into space. Racing outward at about one-quarter the speed of light, these "bullets" of ionized gas are thought to arise from a region located just outside the black hole's event horizon, the point beyond which nothing can escape. "Like a referee at a sports game, we essentially ...

New York Court of Appeals Rules on Workers' Compensation Reforms

2012-01-11

In 2007, the New York Legislature unanimously passed sweeping reforms to the state's workers' compensation laws. Included among the reforms was a requirement that insurers deposit the present value of permanent partial disability awards into the New York Workers' Compensation Aggregate Trust Fund. Injured workers will then be paid by the trust fund instead of by the insurance company. The reform is definitely a boon to injured workers. Prior to the change, insurance companies generally decided how and when a workers' compensation settlement would be paid. Further, ...

New York City Workplace Deaths Rose in 2010

2012-01-11

New York City's workplaces became more hazardous in 2010, according to recently-released preliminary data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The number of workplace fatalities rose to 68 in 2010, up from 63 in 2009. Included in that number are 13 fatal fall from heights injuries, a nearly three-fold increase from the five that occurred in 2009. The largest number of fatalities occurred in the trade, transportation and utilities sector. Those workers saw 21 deaths in 2010. The deaths also disparately affected the Hispanic community, which accounted for approximately ...

Asian-Americans getting better heart attack care

2012-01-11

Care for Asian-American heart attack patients improved between 2003 and 2008, according to a study published today in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, an American Heart Association journal. The study found Asian-Americans and whites received about the same level of care, and that differences in care between the two groups decreased over time. The study is significant because little is known about the treatment and outcomes of Asian-Americans who've suffered a heart attack. "When it comes to disparities in cardiovascular care, most research has focused ...

Hubble pinpoints farthest protocluster of galaxies ever seen

2012-01-11

Using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers have uncovered a cluster of galaxies in the initial stages of development. It is the most distant such grouping ever observed in the early universe. In a random sky survey made in near-infrared light, Hubble found five tiny galaxies clustered together 13.1 billion light-years away. They are among the brightest galaxies at that epoch and very young -- existing just 600 million years after the big bang. Galaxy clusters are the largest structures in the universe, comprising hundreds to thousands of galaxies bound together ...

Supreme Decision: Life Sentences for Juveniles 14 and Younger

2012-01-11

Illinois is among 19 states that imposes life sentences to juveniles 14 and younger, according to the Los Angeles Times. That could soon change. According to the Times report, the U.S. Supreme Court recently decided to consider whether to limit life sentences for juveniles 14 and younger. Currently, 73 people are serving life sentences with no chance of parole for their involvement in homicides committed at the age of 14 or younger. In fact, a research by the University of San Francisco School of Law found that the U.S. is one of two countries worldwide to sentence ...

Inhibition of cyclooxygenase-2 upregulates the nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 signaling pathway to mitigate hepatocyte ferroptosis in chronic liver injury

Healing the iPhone's wounds

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES: