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51 news posts in Engineering

Engineering

09 Feb 2023

Human test subjects may no longer be needed for mosquito bite trials thanks to invention of new biomaterial

by Angharad Brewer Gillham, Frontiers science writer Image/Shutterstock.com Studies on mosquito feeding behavior are crucial to fighting malaria, dengue, and other mosquito-borne pathogens – but traditionally, they require humans or animals to act as meals for the mosquitoes. Scientists have developed a biomaterial which mimics skin, right down to blood under the surface, to make studies on mosquito feeding easier to run. Mosquitoes: the world’s deadliest animal. These tiny flying insects are vectors for dengue fever, yellow fever, Zika, malaria, and many other illnesses which affect millions of people around the world, with a significant morbidity and mortality burden. Because they spread disease when they bite people, understanding their feeding behavior is critical to reducing the harm they do. But how to study mosquito feeding behavior without giving them a live meal? A collaboration between Rice University and Tulane University in the US has developed a biomaterial which could eliminate the need for human volunteers or animal subjects in mosquito bite research. “Several groups are dedicated to finding ways to stop mosquitoes from biting, but bringing new repellents to market is challenging,” said Prof Omid Veiseh, Rice University, corresponding author of the study published in Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology. […]

Engineering

17 Jan 2023

From pylons to pandas: 5 Frontiers articles you won’t want to miss

by Angharad Brewer Gillham, Frontiers science writer Image/Shutterstock.com At Frontiers, we bring some of the world’s best research to a global audience. But with tens of thousands of articles published each year, many often fly under the radar. Here are just five amazing papers you may have missed. Building better-looking pylons Pylons help support essential amenities – but they can be an eyesore. Italian scientists led by Dr Luca Di Angelo at University of L’Aquila investigated the best way to build a pylon with less visual impact on the landscape. As visual impact is subjective, reducing it requires consultation with residents who will see the pylons every day. But designs invented by residents without technical knowledge may not be able to meet safety standards. Di Angelo and colleagues used the development of new electrical pylons in the coastal regions of Italy to test a novel method of integrating visual impact minimization with the design process. They identified shapes which were related to the geography and culture of the area and streamlined enough for pylon design, and surveyed Italians from different coastal regions to determine which shapes were considered most recognizable and representative. A sail was chosen, and models were developed […]

Engineering

16 Nov 2022

Smart ‘Joey’ bots could soon swarm underground to clean and inspect our pipes

By Mischa Dijkstra, Frontiers science writer Joey’s design. Image credit: TL Nguyen, A Blight, A Pickering, A Barber, GH Jackson-Mills, JH Boyle, R Richardson, M Dogar, N Cohen Researchers from the University of Leeds have developed the first mini-robot, called Joey, that can find its own way independently through networks of narrow pipes underground, to inspect any damage or leaks. Joeys are cheap to produce, smart, small, and light, and can move through pipes inclined at a slope or over slippery or muddy sediment at the bottom of the pipes. Future versions of Joey will operate in swarms, with their mobile base on a larger ‘mother’ robot Kanga, which will be equipped with arms and tools for repairs to the pipes. Beneath our streets lies a maze of pipes, conduits for water, sewage, and gas. Regular inspection of these pipes for leaks, or repair, normally requires these to be dug up. The latter is not only onerous and expensive – with an estimated annual cost of £5.5bn in the UK alone – but causes disruption to traffic as well as nuisance to people living nearby, not to mention damage to the environment. Now imagine a robot that can find its […]

Engineering

07 Nov 2022

5 articles you need to check out on the future of materials research

By Angharad Brewer Gillham, Frontiers science writer Image: Shutterstock.com In a fast-moving field of research like materials science, it can be difficult to keep up with the latest breakthroughs. Now at Frontiers, we highlight just five of the latest research articles to shed more light on the way we build our world around us, published by top researchers in the Frontiers in Materials Research Topic ‘Horizons in Materials’. Growing green technology: from trees to tech Scientists aiming to power the appliances of the future are developing special phenolic compounds from resins instead of petrol – a first step towards organic electrodes. Since biomass is the only green, renewable source of carbon materials, carbon-based electrodes for new-generation metal-ion batteries could be a more eco-friendly replacement for lithium-ion batteries. Some of the methods to make these compounds currently available are problematic because they require dangerously high temperatures and pressures and hazardous chemicals, but new methods are being developed which use mechanical forces instead. If these compounds can be developed into renewable sources for electronics, Dr Javier Quílez-Bermejo and his team at the Université de Lorraine point out, the potential for revolutionizing electronic devices would be huge, opening the way for greener fuel […]

Engineering

07 Jul 2022

Bees’ ‘waggle dance’ may revolutionize how robots talk to each other in disaster zones

By Conn Hastings, science writer Image credit: rtbilder / Shutterstock.com Honeybees use a sophisticated dance to tell their sisters about the location of nearby flowers. This phenomenon forms the inspiration for a form of robot-robot communication that does not rely on digital networks. A recent study presents a simple technique whereby robots view and interpret each other’s movements or a gesture from a human to communicate a geographical location. This approach could prove invaluable when network coverage is unreliable or absent, such as in disaster zones.   Where are those flowers and how far away are they? This is the crux of the ‘waggle dance’ performed by honeybees to alert others to the location of nectar-rich flowers. A new study in Frontiers in Robotics and AI has taken inspiration from this technique to devise a way for robots to communicate. The first robot traces a shape on the floor, and the shape’s orientation and the time it takes to trace it tell the second robot the required direction and distance of travel. The technique could prove invaluable in situations where robot labor is required but network communications are unreliable, such as in a disaster zone or in space. Honeybees excel at […]

Engineering

06 Apr 2022

Chief Editor of Environmental Analysis among the most influential analytical scientists in 2021

We are proud to announce that Professor Elefteria Psillakis Chief Editor of the Environmental Analysis section of Frontiers in Analytical Science has been identified by The Analytical Scientist as one of the 2021 most influential people in analytical science. Elefteria (Elia) Psillakis is Full Professor in Water Chemistry at the School of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Crete, Greece. She received her PhD from the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom. In 2007, she was awarded with a Fulbright Research Fellowship to visit the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), USA. Her investigations have resulted in two patents, several book chapters and 100 publications in ISI Journals. Additionally, her publications have received three “Top cited article” awards. In 2012 and 2013, she was vice-chair of the European chemistry evaluation panel for the EU Marie-Curie excellence fellowships. Later, from 2014-2016 she acted as the Deputy Rector of Academic Affairs and Research at the Technical University of Crete and has served twice as the Director of postgraduate studies. She is currently the Head of the Sample Preparation Study Group of the European Chemical Society-Division of Analytical Chemistry and Leader of WG4 “Sample Treatment and Microfluidics” in COST Action Port ASAP […]

Engineering

03 Mar 2022

4 articles you need to check out on the future of building engineering

By Colm Gorey, Science Communications Manager Image: Robert Kneschke/Shutterstock.com The infrastructure that makes up our towns and cities is undergoing a technological and scientific revolution. Now, to help shine a light on some of these significant changes and what it means for engineering, Frontiers highlights just four of the latest research articles helping shape the future of construction. For most of the last century, humanity as a species was focused almost solely on building larger cities as fast as possible and with little thought on its impact to the environment. Now, with the climate crisis an unavoidable reality, this old style of thinking is being replaced by not only more sustainable engineering practices, but ones that revolutionize our very understanding of how we build. Here are just four recent articles published to Frontiers from some of the top researchers in their field as part of the Research Topic ‘Horizons in Built Environment‘. Comprehensive review on the dynamic and seismic behavior of flat-bottom cylindrical silos filled with granular material Storage containers of bulk material are known as bins, silos or even bunkers. Although there is no globally accepted definition for each of the previous terms, ‘bins’ or ‘bunkers’ are commonly used […]

Engineering

21 Oct 2021

Chief Editor of Nanodevices is finalist in 2021 Blavatnik Award for Young Scientists for pioneering memristive technology

We are proud to announce that Professor Themis Prodromakis, Field Chief Editor of Frontiers in Nanotechnology and Specialty Chief Editor for Nanodevices section, has been shortlisted as finalist at the 2021 Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists in the United Kingdom in the Physical Sciences and Engineering Category. This achievement recognizes Prof Prodomakis’ contribution to memristive technology and viable applications in the electronics industry. Professor Themis Prodromakis Prof Themis Prodromakis is the director of the Centre for Electronics Frontiers at the University of Southampton, UK. Prof Prodromakis is well-known for the development of suitable hardware to meet the demanding growth of AI computation. His technology is based on electronic components that can ‘remember’ the amount of charge that has passed through it. This enables the storage of multiple data units in a single component. These electronic components are referred to as memristors (Metal-Oxide Resistive Random-Access Memory). “The invention of the transistor and integrated circuits have over the past seven decades transformed our world. Sustaining modern societal needs requires a fundamental rethink of electronics and Memristors promise to bring this change about” Prof Prodromakis initially focused on the use of nanomaterials to build artificial neural networks that support machine learning and high […]

Engineering

18 Jun 2021

Surprising spider hair discovery may inspire stronger adhesives

By K.E.D. Coan, science writer Cupiennius salei wandering spider. Image credit: Kevin Wells Photography / Shutterstock.com A recent study by the open access publisher Frontiers shows the first evidence that the individual hair-like structures that form spiders’ adhesive feet are far more diverse than expected. By looking at a sample set of these hairs, researchers have found that they have varied shapes as well as attachment properties. Understanding how spiders climb a wide range of surfaces may help scientists design new and better adhesives. Just how do spiders walk straight up — and even upside-down across — so many different types of surfaces? Answering this question could open up new opportunities for creating powerful, yet reversible, bioinspired adhesives. Scientists have been working to better understand spider feet for the past several decades. Now, a new study in Frontiers in Mechanical Engineering is the first to show that the characteristics of the hair-like structures that form the adhesive feet of one species — the wandering spider Cupiennius salei — are more variable than previously thought. “When we started the experiments, we expected to find a specific angle of best adhesion and similar adhesive properties for all of the individual attachment hairs,” […]

Engineering

24 Feb 2021

Buckyballs on DNA for harvesting light

Supramolecular structure boosts efficiency of light harvesting for solar cells By Mischa Dijkstra, Frontiers science writer Researchers from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology show that DNA can serve as a scaffold for light-harvesting supramolecules, where fluorescent dyes work as electron donors and buckyballs as electron acceptors. The DNA’s regular 3D structure increases the light-to-electrons conversion efficiency by reducing so-called self-quenching. Such DNA-based supramolecules could be used in future organic solar cells. Image: Yes058 Montree Nanta/Shutterstock Organic molecules that capture photons and convert these into electricity have important applications for producing green energy. Light-harvesting complexes need two semiconductors, an electron donor and an acceptor. How well they work is measured by their quantum efficiency, the rate by which photons are converted into electron-hole pairs. Quantum efficiency is lower than optimal if there is “self-quenching”, where one molecule excited by an incoming photon donates some of its energy to an identical non-excited molecule, yielding two molecules at an intermediate energy state too low to produce an electron-hole pair. But if electron donors and acceptors are better spaced out, self-quenching is limited, so that quantum efficiency improves. In a new paper in Frontiers in Chemistry, researchers from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) […]