In addition to helping scientists understand how natural soft structures such as flower petals and embryos take shape, the technique could be used to make polymer actuators. These devices move in ...

Ryan Hayward's self-folding crane begins as a flat, trilayer sheet. The middle pNIPAM hydrogel layer swells as the water around it is heated, and the folding is guided by slits patterned into the more ...

The technique of keyhole surgery minimises scarring, speeds healing and reduces the risk of infection. However, it is extremely difficult to carry out delicate surgical procedures accurately in a ...

Shape memory materials that can revert back into a desired form after being bent, twisted and stretched are finding their way into a number of applications, ranging from sports bras to more efficient ...

After being severely and quasi-plastically distorted, shape memory materials (SMMs) are able to recover their original shape when a right stimulus is applied 1. This phenomenon is known as the shape ...

Researchers are developing unique shape-memory polymers, which change shape upon heating, to open blocked arteries, probe neurons in the brain and engineer a tougher spine. Researchers at the Georgia ...

Energy is stored in the crystalline structure of the polymer as it's stretched, allowing it to snap back when heated. Share on Facebook (opens in a new window) Share on X (opens in a new window) Share ...