December 2019

ScienceNewsforStudents

The stems of sunflowers move throughout the day so that their flowery heads always squarely face the sun, wherever it is in the sky. This phototropism helps the plants soak up maximum amounts of sunlight. Scientists had trouble copying this ability with synthetic materials. Until now. Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles have just developed a material with the same type of sun-tracking ability. They describe it as the first synthetic phototropic material.

PlasticsToday

Compared with the rip-roaring years of 2017 and 2018, the first three quarters of 2019 have been anemic for primary plastics processing machinery makers. Coming off four quarters of increasing shipment values in 2018 to a high of about $375 million, Q1 2019 shipments of plastic injection molding and extrusion equipment fell 27.6% to $273.0 million, according to the Committee on Equipment Statistics (CES) of the Plastics Industry Association. 

Phys.org

What do bones and 3-D-printed buildings have in common? They both have columns and beams on the inside that determine how long they last. Now, the discovery of how a “beam” in human bone material handles a lifetime’s worth of wear and tear could translate to the development of 3-D-printed lightweight materials that last long enough for more practical use in buildings, aircraft and other structures.