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Polartec and Kraig to bring Spider Silk fabrics to market
April 30th, 2019
Polartec, Andover, Mass., a major provider textile solutions, and Kraig Biocraft Laboratories, the biotechnology company focused on the development and commercialization of spider silk, announce plans to bring to market the first fabrics made from spider silk. Initially developed for specialized military applications, these materials made from recombinant spider silk will eventually service the global […]
Decay as part of design
April 29th, 2019
Photo: Mediated Matter Group. Could microbes combined with water be guided to selectively disintegrate and then be harnessed as agents of assembly? What would the ecology of a system that included microbes, biocompatible substrates and the contextual environment look like? Those are some of the questions a team of MIT researchers set out to answer […]
China signals it will buy U.S. cotton
April 26th, 2019
by Seshadri Ramkumar China has started showing interest in buying cotton from the U.S., which is a positive signal. This is in anticipation of a positive trade deal between China and the United States. Cotton industry stakeholders who met recently at Lubbock, Texas-based Plains Cotton Growers’ (PCG) Inc., focused their attention on the planting season […]
Biodegradable fibrous oil sorbent created
April 25th, 2019
by Seshadri Ramkumar A Texas Tech University’s (TTU) alumni has invented a line of oil-absorbent mats and wipes. The product, named “Towelie,” evolved out of a collaboration between India and the U.S., utilizing strengths in the textile and advanced materials sectors in the two nations. Ronald Kendall Jr. showed interest in finding sustainable solutions for […]
Researchers 3D print electronic fibers onto textiles
April 22nd, 2019
To make comfortable, wearable electronics, a group of researchers in China has developed a 3D printer that deposits electronic flexible fibers onto transitional textiles or clothes. According to an article in Innovation In Textiles, researchers at Tsinghua University in Beijing printed patterns that can harvest and store electricity onto fabrics. With a 3D printer equipped […]
3D printed casts could replace plaster casts
April 22nd, 2019
Two Latvian entrepreneurs are on a mission to change the way bones are protected and supported during the healing process. CastPrint, a startup founded by Sigvards Krongorns and Janis Olins, uses 3D printing to create lightweight, personalized casts made of plastic web. According to an article in Forbes, the web-like casts can be taken on […]
Fabrics protect from chemical warfare agents
April 22nd, 2019
A new coating for textile fibers shows promise for efficiently capturing toxic industrial chemicals and chemical warfare agents under real-world conditions, including high humidity. The research could lead to improved masks and personal protective equipment for soldiers and others at risk of exposure. Researchers at North Carolina State University (NC State) and the U.S. Army's […]
Shape-shifting aircraft wings offer new concept
April 22nd, 2019
MIT and NASA’s morphing wing assembly is seen under construction, assembled from hundreds of identical subunits. The wing was tested in a NASA wind tunnel. Photo: Kenny Cheung, NASA Ames Research Center. MIT and NASA researchers have developed a new shape-shifting approach to aircraft wing construction. An article in MIT News says the system is […]
Nonwoven innovations to be featured at NETInc
April 22nd, 2019
by Seshadri Ramkumar, Ph.D NETInc, a nonwovens technical conference, was developed by engineers and technologists and has nonwovens professionals from around the world attending each year. This year the Nonwovens Engineers and Technologists (NET) division of TAPPI will be showcasing new developments in the field at the forthcoming NETInc 2019 conference to be held May […]
Wearables with freedom
April 22nd, 2019
Movement and health monitoring enters the next generation. Editor’s note: Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst) have had a series of breakthroughs in technologies that will improve health and wellness monitoring in smart garments. This article is a compilation of reports on this topic that were released by the university in recent […]