7th August 2020
Surface pattered with 3D soft mushroom features showing adhesion via mechanical interlocking of mushroom features onto a textile fabric. Copyright: Wageningen University & Research

3D Printed Bioinspired Surface Patterning for Soft Robotics

Research work by Wageningen University and Groningen University shows that 3D mushroom-shaped surface features have desirable mechanical functionality to adhere to soft and rough surfaces such as fabrics via mechanical... (Read more)
7th August 2020

Designing Optimal Super-liquid-repellent Surfaces

Scientist from Durham University research into doubly reentrant surfaces designed for optimal water... (Read more)
3rd August 2020
A flexible membrane ring is pulled or pushed (indicated by arrows) by internal self-propelled filaments. Filaments mutually interact repulsively via membrane deformation, and thereby align parallel to each other in clusters. Copyright: Utrecht University/Forschungszentrum Jülich

Artificial Cells and Soft Microrobots: Controlling Shape, Motility, and Sensing

Scientists at Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany, propose that engineered flexocytes with desired mechanosensitive capabilities enable the construction of soft-matter microrobots... (Read more)
4th February 2019
Polarized optical microscopy texture of a novel lyotropic liquid crystal phase formed by the self-organization of DNA nanoparticles. Copyright: authors of M. Salamonczyk et al., Nat.Commun. 7, 133358 (2016).

Molecular Engineering of Novel All-DNA Lyotropic Liquid Crystal Phases

Researchers from Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany, and Sapienza University of Rome, Italy, propose that DNA can be a versatile building block for fabricating all-DNA particles with engineered shape and interaction potentials that could serve... (Read more)