The structure of super-flexible LC device is created by ultra-thin plastic substrates bonded by polymer wall spacers.

Researchers at Tohoku University have developed a super flexible liquid crystal (LC) device, in which 2 ultra-thin plastic substrates are firmly bonded by polymer wall spacers. The team, led by Professor Hideo Fujikake and Associate Professor Takahiro Ishinabe of the School of Engineering, hopes the new organic materials will help make electronic displays and devices more flexible, increasing their portability and all round versatility. New usage concepts with flexibility and high quality display could offer endless possibilities in near-future information services.

Previous attempts to create a flexible display using an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) device with a th...

A nano-spacecraft such as ChipSat, which consists of solar cells and functional blocks in a printed circuit board, would face a high risk of damage from radiation and aging issues on a flight into deep space. Especially, most of functional blocks such as microcontroller, memories, sensors, and communication system are semiconductor-based chips. Credit: D.-I. Moon et al.

Self healing chips—healing after radiation damage—could have an impact on interstellar spacecraft, according to reports. Scientists at NASA and KAIST) have been pioneering development of “tiny spacecraft made from a single silicon chip that could slash interstellar exploration times.” Inverse described this breakthrough as “a transistor for silicon chips that can heal itself after radiation damage...

Chondrules — spherical beads of previously molten material — found in CB chondrites were formed by ultra-high-speed collisions. New research suggests that the presence of the planet Jupiter near the asteroid belt could create the right conditions for these impacts. That helps constrain the timing for Jupiter’s formation and migration. The study suggests that Jupiter must have been at full size when the chondrules formed, which was about 5 million years after the first solar system solids appeared. Credit: Alexander Krot, University of Hawai’i Manoa

A peculiar class of meteorites has offered scientists new clues about when the planet Jupiter took shape and wandered through the solar system...

Acute effects of air pollution on pulmonary hemodynamics: new evidence from both population and individual level studies

Authors recommend limiting physical activity in heavily polluted areas. Air pollution limits blood vessel function in the lungs, according to a study in more than 16,000 patients presented today at EuroEcho-Imaging 2016.1 “This is the first human study to report an influence of air pollution on pulmonary vascular function,” said lead author Dr Jean-Francois Argacha, a cardiologist at the University Hospital (UZ) Brussels, Belgium. “This is a major public health issue for people living in polluted urban areas where exercise could damage the lungs and potentially lead to decompensated heart failure.”

Promoting a safer environment appears to be as important as controlling c...