Engineering & Technology

Researchers have established a low-cost method of magnetization reversal on perpendicularly magnetized ferromagnets. Not needing an external magnetic field, the method brings reverse magnetization closer to commercial viability.

Tile patterns in which the same shape is laid out without gaps are found in the compound eyes of insects. Hexagonal tile patterns are common while shrimp eyes have a square pattern. We investigated tile pattern formation using Drosophila and revealed that the compound eye tile pattern is controlled by a geometrical division mechanism, Voronoi tessellation, in addition to physical constraints determined by the combination of the regular distribution and growth of the individual eyes.

An international team of researchers from India and Singapore has successfully developed a novel coating with enhanced water repellent properties using natural material from the waste crab shell.

In disaster mitigation planning for future large earthquakes, seismic ground motion predictions are a crucial part of early warning systems. The way the ground moves depends on how the soil layers amplify the seismic waves (described in a mathematical site “amplification factor”). However, geophysical explorations to understand soil conditions are costly, limiting characterization of site amplification factors to date. Using data on microtremors in Japan, a neural network model can estimate site-specific responses to earthquakes based on subsurface soil conditions.

Milling rice to separate the grain from the husks, produces about 100 million tons of rice husk waste globally each year. Scientists searching for a scalable method to fabricate quantum dots have developed a way to recycle rice husks to create the first silicon quantum dot LED light. Their new method transforms agricultural waste into state-of-the-art light-emitting diodes in a low-cost, environmentally friendly way.

Researchers from Tohoku University have proposed a new method to form an electron lens that will help reduce installation costs for electron microscopes with atomic resolution, proliferating their use. Instead of the electrostatic and magnetic fields employed in conventional electron lenses, they utilized a light field electron-lens.

A multidisciplinary international team of researchers, led by Professor Shukur Abu Hassan, offers new insights about how the load-uptake capacity in a novel hybrid fiber reinforced polymer composite materials can be enhanced.

A team of materials researchers from India, Thailand, Malaysia, China and UK has successfully produced a fibre reinforced polymer composite material using natural fibres from the coconut stalk.

Malaysian and UK medical device and composite materials experts have partnered up to research into using natural fibres for prosthetic limb technology to lower the cost of the prosthesis

With the enhancement of Freeform Liquid 3D Printing, engineers and designers are now able to fabricate more intricate, yet stronger 3D printed soft robots.

Scientists have found a common substance that can reversibly and rapidly store and release relatively large amounts of low-grade heat without decomposing. The research could lead to more efficient reuse of industrial waste heat.

199 Gold, 188 Silver and 56 Bronze were awarded

Microgravity worms help solve astronaut muscle problems, CO2 recycling and drug development, Remote control of robot hand, Enabling the study of diverse Hepatitis B. Read all in the March's Editor's Choice and even more in the Asia Research News 2022 magazine.

Researchers at Kanazawa University report in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences a responsive molecular system that, through chemical reactions, inverses its chirality before becoming racemic.

Researchers in Malaysia are using the chemistry of natural products for sustainable health and energy solutions.

A magnetic hybrid system generates electricity day and night with radiative cooling and solar heating.

Devices that can see shortwave infrared light, which is invisible to the naked eye, could soon become cheaper and more accessible to a broader consumer base.

A quick, cost-effective approach improves the accuracy with which machine learning models can predict the properties of new materials.

An innovative sample preparation method for cellular proteomics and protein structural analysis

A nanoparticle’s size is fine-tuned to offer high-resolution images before and during surgical procedures.

Scientists demonstrate an optical trapping technique using nanotextured black silicon that can efficiently trap polymer chains. By adjusting the laser intensity, these “optical tweezers” can control the florescence color emitted through a local concentration of a perylene-modified polymer solution. From a low intensity blue to high intensity orange, this reversible and fully remote technology can almost reach the entire RGB spectrum.

Top ministerial leaders, policymakers, educators, and technology leaders assemble to address the future of education in Malaysia

A surprising tree-inspired discovery is helping scientists design surfaces that encourage different liquids to move in varying directions.

A reimagined robot hand combines strength with flexibility and resilience, sidestepping problems with existing designs.

The coronavirus pandemic has accelerated the use of robots and an urgent need for an advanced human-machine interface (HMI) system that can seamlessly connect users and robots. A research team co-led by City University of Hong Kong (CityU) and collaborating institution recently developed an innovative HMI system, which consists of flexible, multi-layered electronic skin and provides both visual and haptic feedback to users. The system can teleoperate the robot to imitate the user's actions to perform complicated tasks. It demonstrates the potential for conducting Covid-19 swab tests and nursing patients with infectious diseases.

Device designers at the University of Tokyo are developing cheap and accessible ways to monitor and explore the sea.

A Japanese research team created a new way to sort living cells suspended in fluid using an all-in-one operation in a lab-on-chip that required only 30 minutes for the entire separation process.

Inspired by the woodpecker’s ability to strike trees with its beak rapidly and repeatedly without injury, engineers in Malaysia have used computer simulations to find ways to improve the design of composite beams used in impact-prone structures.

The compact, lightweight device generates electricity when shaken and can power 100 LEDs.

In a recent study published in the journal ACS Catalysis researchers from Kanazawa University describe novel scanning electrochemical cell microscopy measurements to determine sites of photoelectrochemical activity in titanium dioxide nanotubes.