Nature Nanotechnology: A New Ultra-Thin Gel That Absorbs Micro-Bullets

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Super sonic micro-bullets have been softly captured by a new ultra-thin gel. Shock absorbing materials are crucial for protection against strikes from bullets, shrapnel and space debris. To make their material, a team in the UK incorporated Taelin, a helical protein found in biological cells. In the body, Taelin unfolds to relieve stress when mechanical forces are exerted on cells,. Then, it refolds when the forces dissipate.

In this episode:

00:45 A sustainable solution for schistosomiasis control

Schistosomiasis is a serious parasitic disease that affects millions of people, who become infected when they come into contact with contaminated water. To prevent the spread and reinfection of this disease, researchers trialled an environmental intervention that removed plants from lakes in Senegal. These plants act as food for freshwater snails – intermediate hosts for the disease. Results showed that this reduced disease levels, and that the plants could be composted to increase agricultural yields, suggesting this approach could be used to improve health and the economy.

Research article: Rohr et al.

News and Views: A sustainable way to control the parasitic disease schistosomiasis

12:03 Research Highlights

How artificial intelligence can predict the art that people will find memorable, and the protein-based, shock-absorbing gel that can stop projectiles in their tracks.

Research Highlight: Memorable artworks are easy to predict

Research Highlight: Supersonic ‘bullets’ are softly captured by a protein gel

14:52 Briefing Chat

We discuss some highlights from the Nature Briefing. This time, an update on Chandrayaan-3, India’s latest attempt to land a craft on the Moon - and birds that use anti-bird spikes to build nests.

Nature News: India's Moon lander successfully launches — but biggest challenge lies ahead

The Guardian: Crows and magpies using anti-bird spikes to build nests, researchers find

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