Topic description and stories

The demand continues for materials that are stronger, cheaper, lighter, more conductive – simply better.

Squeezing light

Squeezing light inside memory devices could help improve performance

05 Oct 2020

Researchers have developed a method to ‘squeeze’ visible light in order to see inside tiny memory devices. The technique will allow researchers to...

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Fibre sensor attached to face covering

3D-printed ‘invisible’ fibres can sense breath, sound, and biological cells

30 Sep 2020

From capturing your breath to guiding biological cell movements, 3D printing of tiny, transparent conducting fibres could be used to make devices...

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Drying droplets

Coffee stains inspire optimal printing technique for electronics

12 Aug 2020

Using an alcohol mixture, researchers modified how ink droplets dry, enabling cheap industrial-scale printing of electronic devices at unprecedented...

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Printed coatings enable more efficient solar cells

09 Jul 2020

Researchers at Cambridge, Imperial and Singapore have developed a method to print ultrathin coatings on next-generation solar cells, allowing them to...

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Cell ‘membrane on a chip’ could speed up screening of drug candidates for COVID-19

06 Jul 2020

Researchers have developed a human cell ‘membrane on a chip’ that allows continuous monitoring of how drugs and infectious agents interact with our...

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An advanced prototype of the PoliValve

New artificial heart valve could transform open-heart surgery

29 Jun 2020

A new type of artificial heart valve, made of long-lived polymers, could mean that millions of patients with diseased heart valves will no longer...

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Perovskites

Shedding light on dark traps

16 Apr 2020

Researchers pinpoint the origin of defects that sap the performance of next-generation solar technology.

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3D printed corals could improve bioenergy and help coral reefs

09 Apr 2020

Researchers have designed bionic 3D-printed corals that could help energy production and coral reef research.

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Cambridge researchers awarded European Research Council funding

01 Apr 2020

Four researchers at the University of Cambridge have won advanced grants from the European Research Council (ERC), Europe’s premier research funding...

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Watching magnetic nano ‘tornadoes’ in 3D

24 Feb 2020

Scientists have developed a three-dimensional imaging technique to observe complex behaviours in magnets, including fast-moving waves and ‘tornadoes...

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Strategic partner: Rolls-Royce

16 Dec 2019

Researchers at Cambridge are working with Rolls-Royce to make aeroengines greener.

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Smog-eating graphene composite reduces atmospheric pollution

05 Dec 2019

An international group of scientists, including from the University of Cambridge, have developed a graphene composite that can ‘eat’ common...

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