So far, lignin was only a waste material of the paper industry. A team at the University of Delaware succeeded in turning industrially processed lignin into high-performance plastics, such as bio-based 3D-printing resins, and valuable chemicals.

Researchers at MIT have developed a rechargeable lithium-ion battery in the form of an ultra-long fiber that could be woven into fabrics. The battery could enable a wide variety of wearable electronic devices, and might even be used to make 3D-printed batteries in virtually any shape.

3D-printed and packed with a "toolbox" for wound healing: a novel gel patch is supposed to help close chronic wounds faster. The special feature: The patch can be "switched on" and controlled specifically by light, making personalised treatment possible.

A team of UCLA engineers and their colleagues have developed a new design strategy and 3D printing technique to build robots in one single step. A study that outlined the advance, along with the construction and demonstration of an assortment of tiny robots that walk, maneuver and jump, was published in Science.

Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed an upcycling approach that adds value to discarded plastics for reuse in additive manufacturing, or 3D printing.

Rapid developments at all levels of microscopy, such as contrast, illumination, resolution, signal detection and data processing have occurred over the last decades and there is reason to expect that these advances will continue. However, severe limitations in accuracy, reproducibility and throughput are caused by the involvement of humans in all steps of the imaging workflow. It also poses a significant burden and workload for the researcher. To improve this situation is the biggest challenge in automation.

Researchers have developed a biocompatible material that can be 3D-printed into any shape and pre-programmed with reversible shape memory. The research could help the broader effort of reducing waste in the fashion industry, one of the biggest polluters on the planet.

Custom-fabricated lenses make it easy to attach high-tech microscopes directly to cell incubators.

Northwestern University engineers have developed the smallest-ever remote-controlled walking robot — and it comes in the form of a tiny, adorable peekytoe crab that can walk, bend, twist, turn and jump.

Nothing lasts forever, not even the supposed long-lasting rechargeable batteries, be they AAs or AAAs bought in store or the batteries inside our cellphones, wireless earbuds, or cars. Batteries decay. A new study really sheds light on how we can design and manufacture battery electrodes to obtain a long cycle life for batteries.