Every evening during the summer of 2020, Xingyi Zhou went up to the roof of her lab building at the University of Texas at Austin to check on two plastic boxes containing radish plants. Plants in one ...

Engineers find the hydrogel polyethylene glycol (PEG) doubles its water absorption as temperatures climb from 25 to 50 C, and could be useful for passive cooling or water harvesting in warm climates.

Engineers synthesized a superabsorbent material that can soak up a record amount of moisture from the air, even in desert-like conditions. MIT engineers have synthesized a superabsorbent material that ...

The gel material is cheap to make, and a single kilogram can produce liters of water in seemingly dry conditions. Reading time 4 minutes As the world becomes increasingly hot, fresh and clean water is ...

Plants may have no muscles, but they can grow upwards against the strain of gravity and their roots can even shift soil and rocks – because their cells can absorb water to form strong structures. Now ...

Researchers from Duke University have created the first gel-based substitute for natural cartilage, which, according to them, is more durable than the original. The hydrogel material is made of water ...

Students will plan and conduct an absorbency test on four different materials and be able to explain that when testing materials to learn about their properties, the materials need to be tested in the ...

Hydrogels are soft, jelly-like materials that can absorb large amounts of water. They are widely used in medical technologies such as contact lenses and wound dressings, and are also a staple of ...

One of the biggest difficulties in helping people affected by natural disasters is transporting and providing them with essential resources like safe drinking water. Researchers at Australia's RMIT ...

Our Textiles Lab expert breaks down the science of towel absorbency.