Engineer leads way to Spider-Man suit - 30-08-2007 - 11:16

An Italian nanoengineer has made a breakthrough that could make Spider-Man-style wall and ceiling walking antics a possibility.

Bicola Pugno, of the Polytechnic of Turin, has calculated how to make a suit that could stick a human to a wall, using the same principle that helps geckos cling, even upside down, to surfaces as smooth as glass.

Microscopic hairs on gecko's feet take advantage of weak attractions called Van Der Waals forces, binding them to vertical surfaces.

Professor Pugno believes that similar forces could be exploited for people, using microscopic fibres called carbon nanotubes, which he says could be useful for various human endeavours.

"There are many interesting applications for our theory, from space exploration and defence to designing gloves and shoes for window cleaners of big skyscrapers," said professor Pugno.

But he is not the only person developing a super adhesive, self cleaning and hydrophobic material.

BAE systems has been conducting research into a textile it calls Synthetic Gecko.

But, even if the suit was made, professor Pugno says we may be limited in how we use it.

"We would suffer great muscle fatigue if we tried to stick to a wall for many hours," he said.

Engineers 'should co-operate to help poor' - 03-08-2007 - 11:15

Engineers have been called upon to use their "creative genius and innovative flair" to combat technological obstacles to the development of poorer countries.

Prime minister Gordon Brown used his speech to the United Nations to call upon the scientific community to take part in helping create wealth throughout the world.

He asked engineers to cooperate with development organisations to help find ways out of poverty and its associated problems.

Using the International Finance Facility for Immunisation, which aims to immunise 500 million children by 2015 and is supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation as well as European governments and those of Brazil and South Africa, the prime minister urged public-private cooperation.

Engineers of all varieties can contribute to the development of technologies that can help solve problems in the poorest countries.

Low-cost techniques for infrastructure construction, medical delivery and hygiene and water systems are among the contributions that have already been made.

Mr Brown argued that while past generations could say they didn't have the knowledge, technology, medicine or science to tackle poverty, this is an excuse which is no longer valid.

"What we now need is the unity and strength of purpose to employ the ingenuity and resources we have - and to employ them well - to help those who need it," he said.

Woman wins prestigious prize - 01-08-2007 - 17:33

Dr Molly Stevens has become the first female scientist to win the Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain's 2006 Conference Science Medal.

The prize was awarded for the first time to a woman, Dr Stevens from Imperial College's Department of Materials.

Dr Stevens, whose work on regenerative medicine, nanotechnology and tissue transplantation has been honoured before with the Phillip Leverhulme Prize for Engineering.

Her work involves developing nanomaterials which can identify disease related proteins as well as nanomaterials that arrange themselves into structures that help repair bone and cartilage.

Dr Stevens said: "It was quite a competitive field so I am really pleased to have won the award. I think it is an important milestone for women in the field."

Her achievement represents the first time in 40 years that the Conference Science Medal, which is awarded annually to recognise a track record of independent research or promise, is awarded to a woman.