Scientists have developed the first cells that can construct artificial polymers from building blocks that are not found in nature, by following instructions the researchers encoded in their genes.

This glue is made from leftover cooking oil, which contains fatty acids that are ideal for making flexible, durable, and ...

Chemists discovered a new way to make polymers stronger: introduce a few weaker bonds into the material. Working with polyacrylate elastomers, they could increase the materials' resistance to tearing ...

Even though many plastics are recyclable, most are not recycled because of the cost and labor needed. To help make plastic recycling easier, chemists want to find new polymers that require less work ...

Scientists have come up with a new technique to evaluate the mechanical forces generated in polymer crystallization as they cool down from their molten state. They used small, fluorescent molecules to ...

CAMBRIDGE, MA -- A team of chemists from MIT and Duke University has discovered a counterintuitive way to make polymers stronger: introduce a few weaker bonds into the material. Working with a type of ...

Hundreds of millions of tons of single-use plastic end up in landfills every year, and even the small percentage of plastic that gets recycled can’t last forever. But our group of materials scientists ...

MATERIALS SCIENTISTS have long sought to emulate biology’s trick of joining materials that have wildly different properties into seamless functional units with no weak points, in the way that bones, ...

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In modern times, manufacturers produce highly specialized materials for a wide array of uses, called polymers. Polymers have a variety of purposes owing to their versatile properties, ranging from ...