Although unappetizing in this lab shot, these creatures are already used for many other purposes, including as an ingredient in Asian cuisine. Credit: Johan Foster

A NIST team has measured the best wood-to-pest ratio for the design of new composites. Tunicates are slimy invasive exotic pests that some people like to eat. Now they may be used to make UV-reflective, flexible construction materials. They have combined derivatives of two surplus materials – wood pulp and dried-up pieces of an invasive exotic pest – to form a new composite material that is flexible, sustainable, nontoxic and UV light-reflective. The material could soon be used in a wide variety of applications, including food packaging, biomedical devices, building construction and the design of cars, trucks and boats.

The key ...

A depiction of the crystal structure of chromium triiodide (CrI3), with chromium atoms shown in purple and iodine atoms in yellow. The black arrows represent the electron “spins,” which are analogous to tiny bar magnets.Tiancheng Song

Scientists have discovered a method to encode information using magnets that are just a few layers of atoms in thickness. This breakthrough may revolutionize both cloud computing technologies and consumer electronics by enabling data storage at a greater density and improved energy efficiency.

In a study published online May 3 in the journal Science, the researchers report that they used stacks of ultrathin materials to exert unprecedented control over the flow of electrons based on the direction of their spins – where the electron “spins” are analogous t...

The Jedi knights may help protect a galaxy far, far away, but our GEDI will help us study and understand forest changes right here on Earth. Credits: NASA

A first-of-its-kind laser instrument designed to map the world’s forests in 3D is moving toward an earlier launch to the International Space Station than previously expected. The Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation – or GEDI, pronounced like “Jedi,” of Star Wars fame – instrument is undergoing final integration and testing this spring and summer at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. The instrument is expected to launch aboard SpaceX’s 16th commercial resupply services mission, targeted for late 2018. GEDI is being led by the University of Maryland, College Park; the instrument is being built at NASA Goddard.

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This is a schematic image of the crystal structure of high-entropy-alloy-type REO0.5F0.5BiS2. Credit: Yoshikazu Mizuguchi

Promising strategy for creating state-of-the-art layered superconductors. Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University have created new superconductors made of layers of bismuth sulfide (BiS2) and a high entropy rare earth alloy oxyfluoride, containing 5 different rare earth (RE) elements at the same crystallographic site. The new material retains superconducting properties over a wider range of lattice parameters than materials without high-entropy-alloy states. Their work promises an exciting new strategy for designing new layered superconductors, a potentially key development in the search for high-temperature superconductors.

Superconductors are key to a range of ...