Scientists have now replicated that technique to produce self-folding paper structures. Like plants, paper is made up mostly of cellulose fibers. In both cases, when those fibers absorb water, they ...

When Larissa Novelino began her engineering career, she never imagined she’d spend her days folding paper. “I was never the crafty, artistic type,” Novelino said. “My mom still can’t believe I ended ...

When natural motion comes to mind, plants are most likely at the bottom of most people's list. The truth is that plants can perform complex movements, but they only do so very slowly. The main ...

Using cellulose nanofibers from wood, researchers have made paper that can be tuned using a slow heat treatment to be effective semiconductors, some almost as conductive as metals (ACS Nano 2022, DOI: ...

Scientists and engineers are fascinated by self-folding structures. Imagine the possibilities: Heart stents that unfold in the right location or pop-up tents that assemble at the press of a button, as ...

The objective of the EFRI project led by Daniela Rus of MIT is to create computational materials whose properties can be programmed to achieve specific shapes and/or mechanical properties, such as ...

The ancient and delicate Japanese art of paper folding, or origami, may seem a long way from the hi-tech, highly automated world of twenty-first century automobile manufacturing. However, says ...