Technology Area: Building Materials
119 Results for 'Building Materials'
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Technologies 8
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cold-SNAP: Eco-friendly air conditioning
As average global temperatures steadily climb, the worldwide demand for air conditioning is expected to triple by 2050. Conventional air conditioners, while now cheap to manufacture, still rely on low-efficiency mechanical vapor compression to cool and dehumidify air, making them one of the largest consumers of energy in industrialized countries. An alternative cooling method called... -
Digital information storage in DNA
The genetic material DNA has garnered considerable interest as a medium for digital information storage because its density and durability are superior to those of existing silicon-based storage media. For example, DNA is at least 1000-fold more dense than the most compact solid-state hard drive and at least 300-fold more durable than the most stable... -
DNA Nanostructures for Drug Delivery
Researchers at the Wyss Institute have developed two methods for building arbitrarily shaped nanostructures using DNA, with a focus on translating the technology towards nanofabrication and drug delivery applications. One proprietary nanofabrication technique, called “DNA-brick self-assembly,” uses short, synthetic strands of DNA that work like interlocking Lego® bricks. It capitalizes on the ability to program... -
Dynamic Daylight Control System
In the U.S. alone, commercial and residential buildings account for more than 40 percent of the total energy consumption – mostly for lighting. What’s more, the deep building layouts that are typical in the U.S. have led to a complete reliance on artificial lighting systems that are less desirable than natural daylight. Many of the... -
Shrilk: Biodegradable Plastic
Wyss Institute researchers have developed a fully degradable bioplastic by isolating a material called chitosan found in shrimp shells and forming a laminate with silk fibroin protein that mimics the microarchitecture of natural insect cuticle. The new material, called “Shrilk”, can be used to manufacture objects without the environmental threat posed by conventional synthetic plastics,... -
Phase-Separating Liquid Gated Membranes
Just like pores in living organisms that control the absorption and excretion of fluids, gases and solids in response to their environments, flow-gating membranes have proved very useful for many mechanical systems, such as gas and liquid separators, dialysis machines, or open heart bypass pumps. But conventional approaches to create synthetic “gated pores” within those...
News 88
Multimedia 23
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Video/AnimationSoft Exosuit for Post-stroke Gait Re-trainingThis video explains how exosuit technology, developed at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, applied to ankle movements helps patients post-stroke regain a more normal gait. Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University -
Audio/PodcastBiofilms: Reprogramming Bacteria to Improve LivesWyss Core Faculty member Neel Joshi and Postdoctoral Fellow Anna Duraj-Thatte discuss the intersection between synthetic biology and materials science as an underexplored area with great potential to positively affect our daily lives—applications ranging from manufacturing to medicine. Dr. Joshi outlines ways that his lab at the Wyss Institute is looking at reprogramming bacteria in... -
Video/AnimationHow plant stems grow into different shapesIt is well known that as plants grow, their stems and shoots respond to outside signals like light and gravity. But if plants all have similar stimuli, why are there so many different plant shapes? Using simple mathematical ideas, Harvard University researchers constructed a framework that explains and quantifies the different shapes of plant stems.... -
Video/Animation3D Printing Ceramic FoamThis video shows the 3D printing process that adds layer upon layer of the foam link to create a 3D porous ceramic honeycomb pattern. This new capability is an important step toward generating porous materials for lightweight structures, thermal insulation, tissue scaffolds and other applications. Credit: Lori Sanders -
Video/AnimationReconfigurable MaterialsThis video shows how a reconfigurable model structure generated with the teams predictive method can be drawn into different shapes that might perform very different functions. Credit: Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. -
Video/AnimationBioprinting: The Kidney’s Proximal TubulesIn this video, see how the Wyss Institute team has advanced bioprinting to the point of being able to fabricate a functional subunit of a kidney. Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University