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Engineering
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Engineering

Ditch ‘shrink it and pink it’ approach to women’s running shoes, manufacturers urged

Sports footwear manufacturers need to ditch the ‘shrink it and pink it’ approach to women’s running shoes, because this is failing to differentiate their distinct anatomical and biomechanical needs across the life course from those of men, concludes a small qualitative study published in the open access journal BMJ Open Sports & Exercise Medicine. Female-, rather than male-based, designs might not only boost women runners’ comfort, but also enhance injury prevention, and their performance, say the researchers. Over the past 50 years, manufacturers have invested billions of dollars on developing running shoes that can prevent injury, maximise comfort, ...

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Engineering

Twisting sound: Scientists discover a new way to control mechanical vibrations in metamaterial

NEW YORK, October 13, 2025 — Scientists at the Advanced Science Research Center at the CUNY Graduate Center (CUNY ASRC) have discovered a groundbreaking way to control sound and vibrations using a concept inspired by “twistronics,” a phenomenon originally developed for electronics. Their research, published in the journal PNAS, introduces “twistelastics”— a technique that uses tiny rotations between layers of engineered surfaces to manipulate how mechanical waves ...

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Engineering

New 3D printing method ‘grows’ ultra-strong materials

Vat photopolymerization is a 3D printing technique in which a light-sensitive resin is poured into a vat, and then selectively hardened into a desired shape using a laser or UV light. But this process is mostly used only with light-sensitive polymers, which limits its range of useful applications. While some 3D printing methods have been developed to convert these printed polymers into tougher metals and ceramics, Daryl Yee, head of the Laboratory for the Chemistry of Materials and Manufacturing in EPFL’s School of Engineering, explains that materials produced with these techniques suffer from serious structural setbacks. “These materials tend to be ...

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Engineering

University of Oklahoma researcher awarded funding to bridge gap between molecular data and tissue architecture

NORMAN, Okla. – Marmar Moussa, an assistant professor in the School of Computer Science and Stephenson School of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Oklahoma, has received a distinguished U.S. National Science Foundation CAREER award to develop advanced computational tools that could transform how scientists study disease at the cellular level, particularly in cancer and tissue remodeling. Moussa will lead a five-year project to create advanced algorithms that combine molecular profiling ...

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Engineering

Engineers develop solid lubricant to replace toxic materials in farming

Researchers have developed a new class of nontoxic, biodegradable solid lubricants that can be used to facilitate seed dispersal using modern farming equipment, with the goal of replacing existing lubricants that pose human and environmental toxicity concerns. The researchers have also developed an analytical model that can be used to evaluate candidate materials for future lubricant technologies. Modern farming makes use of various machines to accurately and efficiently plant seeds in the ground. However, it can be difficult to prevent the seeds from jamming in these machines. To keep the seeds flowing smoothly, farmers use solid lubricants that prevent the seeds ...

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Engineering

Scientists agree chemicals can affect behavior, but industry workers more reluctant about safety testing

Survey of 166 international experts highlights concerns about protecting human and wildlife health from environmental pollutants Less than a third of industry scientists support including behavioural tests in chemical safety assessments, compared to 80 per cent of academics and 91 per cent of government scientists Despite almost all scientists (97 per cent) agreeing that chemicals can affect wildlife behaviour, most testing is done by universities rather than chemical companies, leaving gaps ...

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Engineering

Towards efficient room-temperature fluorine recovery from fluoropolymers

Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is a synthetic fluorine-based polymer with a wide range of applications, including non-stick cookware production and electrical and optical fiber cable coating, owing to its high durability, thermal stability, and low friction. Ironically, its durability also presents an environmental challenge for its disposal. PTFE is mainly disposed of via incineration, landfilling, and defluorination. However, incineration requires high energy and involves the release of hydrogen fluoride, which is highly corrosive. Meanwhile, landfilling leads to an environmental burden of undegraded PTFE. By contrast, defluorination, in ...

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Engineering

When Washington tried to starve industries of loans—and failed

In 2013, the US Department of Justice quietly launched a program called Operation Choke Point. Its aim was to pressure some banks into cutting ties with businesses that, while legal, were deemed risky from a social or reputational standpoint. Included in the operation were payday lenders, firearm and ammunition dealers, tobacco vendors, online gambling sites, and even escort services. The strategy was simple: If targeted banks refused to lend to these controversial companies, their access to capital would dry up, eventually squeezing ...

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Engineering

Inexpensive multifunctional composite paves the way to a circular economy

Meeting global energy demands while mitigating environmental harm remains a major challenge, as many current solutions rely on expensive and toxic noble metals. In a recent study, researchers from Japan successfully developed a novel copper–cobalt oxide composite anchored on nitrogen-doped carbon nanostructures. Synthesized via a simple method, this material excels in energy storage, environmental remediation, and water splitting—offering a low-cost and sustainable alternative to conventional catalysts across multiple applications. The world is currently grappling ...

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Engineering

Steel making could get a makeover

Researchers investigate clean and efficient new method for iron production MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (09/29/2025) — A research team at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities has investigated a new method to produce iron, the main component of steel. For the first time, the researchers were able to observe chemical reactions and iron formation in real-time at the nanometer scale. This breakthrough has the potential to transform the global iron and steel production industry by improving energy efficiency ...

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Engineering

Oxidative depolymerization of lignin enhanced by synergy of polyoxometalate and acetic acid

Lignin, a renewable aromatic biopolymer with complex three-dimensional networks and diverse functional groups, represents a promising sustainable feedstock for value-added chemicals and fuels. However, its structural heterogeneity and poor solubility pose significant challenges for efficient valorization. Oxidative depolymerization has emerged as a particularly effective approach for producing carbonyl-containing aromatic compounds under mild conditions. Polyoxometalates serve as ideal bifunctional catalysts, combining acidic and oxidative sites while enabling oxygen-mediated regeneration. Current limitations involve the high ...

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Engineering

Topology reveals the hidden rules of amorphous materials — Softness arises from hierarchical structures

Osaka, Japan — Why do glass and other amorphous materials deform more easily in some regions than in others? A research team from The University of Osaka, the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Okayama University, and the University of Tokyo has uncovered the answer. By applying a mathematical method known as persistent homology, the team demonstrated that these soft regions are governed by hidden hierarchical structures, where ordered and disordered atomic arrangements coexist. Crystalline solids, such as salt or ice, have atoms neatly arranged in repeating ...

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Engineering

Broadband photodetector material integrating day-night recognition and distance measurement

A research team in South Korea has developed a next-generation sensor material capable of integrating the detection of multiple light wavelengths. A joint research team led by Dr. Wooseok Song at the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT) and Professor Dae Ho Yoon at Sungkyunkwan University successfully developed a new broadband photodetector material that can sense a wider range of wavelengths compared to existing commercial materials, and achieved cost-effective synthesis on a 6-inch wafer-scale substrate. Photodetectors ...

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Engineering

Designing materials for next-generation propulsion systems

The ability to reliably order groceries or takeout, have rapid package delivery, check the weather forecast, or follow GPS tracking is all a part of the US’s ever-growing satellite and space economy. The continued growth of this economy relies on advancements in propulsion technologies. One such breakthrough is the “Rotating Detonation Engine" (RDE). The RDE offers the ability to deliver satellites to precise orbits in outer space with greater robustness and reduced fuel consumption and emissions than with current conventional engines. However, there are many fundamental scientific challenges that remain ...

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Engineering

Improving question answering over building codes by evaluating retrievers and fine-tuning LLMs

Researchers have focussed on building a QA system which can answer query of user from building code and reduces the laborious traditional way of manual querying. One possible solution to build a robust QA system is to utilise the power of Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG). Researchers have explored the potential of several retrieval methods and efficiency of Low Rank Adaptation (LoRA) to fine-tune Large Language Models (LLMs). Retrievers and LLMs are core component of a RAG system, and their performance affects ...

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Engineering

Possible breakthrough in the development of effective biomaterials

Many hopes rested on so-called tissue engineering: With the help of stem cells, skin and other organs could be grown, thereby enabling better wound healing and better transplants. Although some of this is already a reality, the level expected around 20 years ago has not yet been achieved because the stem cells do not always bind to the required host material as they should in theory. An international research team led by chemist Professor Shikha Dhiman from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) has now found the reason for this: "Whether an interaction ...

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Engineering

MoBluRF: A framework for creating sharp 4D reconstructions from blurry videos

Neural Radiance Fields (NeRF) is a fascinating technique that creates three-dimensional (3D) representations of a scene from a set of two-dimensional (2D) images, captured from different angles. It works by training a deep neural network to predict the color and density at any point in 3D space. To do this, it casts imaginary light rays from the camera through each pixel in all input images, sampling points along those rays with their 3D coordinates and viewing direction. Using this information, NeRF reconstructs the scene in 3D and can render it from entirely new perspectives, a process known as novel view synthesis (NVS). Beyond still images, a video can also be used, with each frame of ...

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Engineering

SNU materials science and engineering team identifies reconstruction mechanism of copper alloy catalysts for CO₂ conversion

Seoul National University College of Engineering announced that a joint research team led by Professor Young-Chang Joo (Department of Materials Science and Engineering) and Professor Jungwon Park (School of Chemical and Biological Engineering) has, in collaboration with Professors Dae-Hyun Nam (Department of Materials Science and Engineering) and Seoin Baek (KU-KIST Graduate School) at Korea University, become the first in the world to elucidate the reconstruction mechanism of copper alloy catalysts during electrochemical CO₂ conversion reactions. The research sheds light on atomic rearrangements in catalyst ...

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Engineering

A hard look at geoengineering reveals global risks

(Santa Barbara, Calif.) — With CO2 emissions continuing unabated, an increasing number of policymakers, scientists and environmentalists are considering geoengineering to avert a climate catastrophe. Such interventions could influence everything from rainfall to global food supplies, making the stakes enormous. In brief, manipulating other aspects of Earth’s climate system might reduce some effects of climate change. But the wondrous complexity of our planet complicates every one of these proposals. Climate scientists at UC Santa Barbara analyzed two approaches ...

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Engineering

High-performance electrode material that withstands seawater!

Dr. Juchan Yang’s research team at the Hydrogen & Battery Materials Center, from the Energy & Environment Materials Research Division of the Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS), has developed a composite catalyst using the novel material MXene that suppresses the generation of chloride ions-one of the key challenges in seawater electrolysis. This research outcome is expected to accelerate the practical application of seawater electrolysis technology by enabling stable hydrogen production even in seawater. Hydrogen is gaining attention as an eco-friendly energy source that emits no carbon. However, conventional water electrolysis ...

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Engineering

Construction secrets of honeybees: Study reveals how bees build hives in tricky spots

On a hot summer day in Colorado, European honeybees (Apis mellifera L.) buzz around a cluster of hives near Boulder Creek. Worker bees taking off in search of water, nectar and pollen mingle with bees that have just returned from the field. Inside the hives, walls of hexagons are beginning to take shape as the bees build their nests. “Building a hive is a beautiful example of honeybees solving a problem collectively,” said Orit Peleg, associate professor in CU Boulder’s Department of Computer Science. “Each bee has a little bit of wax, and each bee knows where to deposit it, ...

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Engineering

As farm jobs decline, food industry work holds steady

CORNELL UNIVERSITY MEDIA RELATIONS OFFICE FOR RELEASE: Sept. 10, 2025 Adam Allington (231) 620-7180 aea235@cornell.edu As farm jobs decline, food industry work holds steady ITHACA, N.Y. – A new Cornell University study covering nearly three decades and 189 countries finds that while traditional farm jobs decline as nations grow wealthier, employment in the broader food industry – from processing plants to restaurants – remains surprisingly steady, offering better wages but ...

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Engineering

Tiny metal figurines from Sardinia's Nuragic civilization in around 1,000 BC reveal extensive ancient Mediterranean metal trading networks

Tiny metal figurines from Sardinia's Nuragic civilization in around 1,000 BC reveal extensive ancient Mediterranean metal trading networks Article URL: http://plos.io/45QCTPq Article title: Multiproxy analysis unwraps origin and fabrication biographies of Sardinian figurines: On the trail of metal-driven interaction and mixing practices in the early first millennium BCE Author countries: Germany, Denmark, Italy Funding: Grant agreement 23–1869 to HV, MKH, GS. Augustinus Foundation funding the Metals & Giants project. https://augustinusfonden.dk/en The foundation played no role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation ...

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Engineering

Well-publicized polar geoengineering ideas will not help and could harm, warn experts

Five well-publicized polar geoengineering ideas are highly unlikely to help the polar regions and could harm ecosystems, communities, international relations, and our chances of reaching net zero by 2050. This is according to a new assessment, published in Frontiers in Science, which looked at five of the most developed geoengineering proposals currently being considered for use in Antarctica and the Arctic. The polar regions are home to fragile communities and ecosystems, as well as most of the world’s ice. Technological ‘geoengineering’ approaches have been proposed to delay or address the impacts of climate ...

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Engineering

New tectonic geodynamics textbook bridges scientific disciplines

Thorsten Becker, a professor at The University of Texas at Austin’s Jackson School of Geosciences, is the author of a new textbook, “Tectonic Geodynamics.” The book is co-authored with Claudio Faccenna, who was formerly at UT, and is now a professor at the Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences in Potsdam and at Roma TRE University. The textbook is the first to integrate tectonics, structural geology, and geodynamics in a single volume. It will be released in November by Princeton University Press and is available for pre-order. Although ...

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