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Safer cars and buildings start at the nano level

When accidents happen, the difference between life and death may come down to the materials of the car, boat or building that you find yourself in. The best possible protection requires understanding as much as possible about how different materials behave under stress.

Svalbard reindeer populations rebounding from centuries of hunting

As reindeer go, the animals living on Svalbard might not be Santa’s first choice. They’re a smaller subspecies of their common mainland relatives, and to save energy they basically never run. But because they were nearly exterminated from Svalbard around 1900 — and were then protected in 1925 — the animals provide unique insights into how conservation can help species thrive.

Moose: like having wild livestock in the woods

Moose prefer to browse on deciduous trees. Then conifers take over and affect the species diversity in the forest. One researcher contends that Norwegian wildlife management is not good enough to address what happens in the wake of these large herbivores.

Computer video simulation can limit flooding

Floods are expensive and at times dangerous. But what if a computer disaster simulation game could show politicians and local people what potential floods in their town would look like?

Buy less, be happier and build a healthy planet

You may feel like you can’t do anything to stop climate change. But climate activists who joined in grassroots movements managed to cut their carbon footprints and were still happier than their non-activist peers, new research shows.

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Breaking glass to make it safer

Our craving for daylight has accelerated the use of glass in modern buildings. However, for people concerned about safety, our passion for the light comes with a dark side.

Turning waste heat into hydrogen fuel

Hydrogen as an energy carrier can help us move away from fossil fuels, but only if it is created efficiently. One way to improve efficiency is to use waste heat that’s left over from other industrial processes.

Cholesterol crystals play an active role in stroke, heart attacks

Cholesterol crystals form from “bad” cholesterol and are found in plaques that line blood vessels. When these plaques rupture, they can cause heart attacks or strokes. New research suggests that cholesterol crystals in plaques can actually trigger strokes and heart attacks.

Simulating her way to better batteries

Do you have a phone or a car that always runs out of juice? Ingeborg Treu Røe is studying batteries that can store more energy and triple the range of your EV.

Super-strong magnetic supercrystals can assemble themselves

Materials scientists who work with nano-sized components have developed ways of working with their vanishingly small materials. But what if you could get your components to assemble themselves into different structures without actually handling them at all?

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Nature’s way of keeping surfaces clean

Nature has long been an inspiration for materials engineers and designers — just think of Velcro, the ubiquitous stick-to-itself tape that was created by a Swiss engineer after he picked burs out of his dog’s coat. Now a team of NTNU researchers has looked in more detail at how tiny conical structures on a lotus leaf or insect’s wing repel water and help keep it clean.

People who need health care advice the most like it the least

Most people think it’s a good thing that public health authorities propose preventive health measures. The greatest resistance is found among individuals who need these measures the most – such as smokers, people with unhealthy diets or who don’t exercise.

Tracing the journey of microplastics in the Arctic

By now it’s well established that microplastics are a problem in the environment, even in the remotest parts of the planet. But where do different microplastics come from and how they get there, especially in the Arctic?