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Published on  February 24th, 2014 |  Edited by: April Gocha, PhD 0 Move over, polymers—silica nanoparticles may be the new adhesive for hydrogels and tissues Published on February 24th, 2014 | Edited by: April Gocha, PhD 0 in Share French scientists have devised an adhesive from silica nanoparticles that can glue together gel-like materials and resist deformation. Credit: © CNRS Photothèque/ESPCI/MMC – GRACIA Marie. Polymers make great adhesives, but they just can’t stick it when it comes to gluing together gel-like materials. French researchers at  ESPCI ParisTech  and  CNRS  may have devised a superior adhesive—silica nanoparticles. The researchers recently reported in  Nature  a simple and inexpensive method of using commercial silica nanoparticles as an adhesive for gels and even biological tissues. The scientists simply applied a solution containing silica nanoparticles to the surface of poly(dimethylacrylamide) (PDMA)  gel, and briefly pressed

Solar tiles may be blue or black. Until recently, if you wanted a home solar-power system, you had to install a set of large photovoltaic panels on the roof or in the yard. But nowadays you have more choices, including low-profile solar tiles that can be integrated with standard siding or shingles. While solar tiles are a clear aesthetic improvement, they're a new technology that's still very much under development; they will continue to become more viable with every year's advances, but currently they may only be practical for some homeowners. History Solar tiles have been in use since the 1990s. In 1996, photovoltaic shingles won "Popular Science" magazine's Grand Award for the best new technology. Since then, they've continued to gain popularity among green builders, and are most commonly used in place of or in conjunction with standard roof tiles or shingles. In 2007, the U.S. Department of Energy reported that California developers pla