glue
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Motorola's foldable Razr is unsurprisingly hard to repair
Motorala's contemporary take on the Razr has been quite publicly panned by testers. CNET, for example, wanted to see if the device could withstand 100,000 folds -- it only made it to the 27,000th fold before it started showing problems (which Motorala has subsequently defended). With foldable smartphones still far from the norm, consumers are understandably wary of making such a sizeable investment in something that's still relatively unpredictable. If it goes wrong, how much of a hassle will it be to repair? And in the case of Motorola's Razr, the answer is "a big one," according to iFixit's recent teardown.
Researchers create a fast-sealing surgical 'glue' for closing wounds
Closing up wounds typically calls for sutures or staples, but neither are able to create a complete seal. And when it comes to internal injuries that are harder to get to and wounds on organs that move a significant amount, such as lungs, treatment becomes even more difficult. Sealants offer a solution to those problems, but none of those available meet all of the requirements of an effective surgical tool. However, researchers have just developed a new type of sealant that may actually check all of the boxes. Their work was published this week in Science Translational Medicine.
ICYMI: Submersible sticky situations and elongating elastomer electrodes
Today on In Case You Missed It: Researchers from Purdue University and the Office of Naval Research teamed up to develop a new kind of glue that even works underwater. The synthetic compound is derived from proteins used by muscles to keep themselves attached to rocks. The man-made adhesive is 17 times stronger than its source material and could one day hold US Navy ships together. We also take a look at a stretchable electrode developed at Stanford University. Leveraging the same kind of molecule that commercial kitchens use to thicken soups, the Stanford researchers were able to develop an electrical conductor that can be easily deformed while actually conducting better as it is stretched. And finally, this is what happens when you hook a watermelon up to a car battery. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
Shellfish-inspired glue stays sticky underwater
Even the strongest human-made glue tends to fail when you dunk it underwater. Purdue researchers, however, think they have a simple solution to this: imitate nature. They've developed a polymer adhesive that's based on the proteins mussels use to cling to rocks. The team's synthetic creation takes advantage of compounds inside the proteins' amino acids to bind directly to an intended surface, rather than interacting with water on the surface. The result is a material that not only outperforms the glue you see in the hardware store, but is 17 times stronger than the shellfish's own adhesive -- and that has scientists scratching their heads.
GMC's latest SUV travels farther thanks to glue
Usually, squeaking significant extra mileage out of a vehicle involves some very conspicuous changes. You can switch to a new engine, go hybrid (or full electric), or build components out of lightweight materials like carbon fiber. GM, however, is trying something different with the just-launched 2017 GMC Acadia: glue. Rather than join the SUV's underbody components using rivets or welds, GM is using aircraft-grade adhesives along the seams to create a body so stiff that the company can afford to use thinner steel. The result is an Acadia that's a whopping 700 pounds lighter than its predecessor, giving it 23 miles per gallon (versus the 2016 model's 18) without having to resort to more drastic changes.
Original iPad retrofitted to play nice with Smart Cover, magnets largely to thank (video)
Although we don't exactly know how they work, magnets are one of Earth's many fascinations and are used in many gadgets today -- perhaps most notably in Apple's new Smart Covers. As you might have already known, the iPad 2's first party screen concealer uses a bunch of magnets to make the magic happen; it snaps on and fits almost too well. By taking a few rare earth magnets and gluing them to the original slate's hip, blogger Dan Provost is able to use a Smart Cover with the iPad uno. He positioned them according to how they stuck to the hinge of the cover, which explains the lack of spacing between the four magnets. As you'll see in the video, Apple's screen protector works well with the tablet, but it lacks the auto-unlock mechanism found in the iPad 2. Care to give your original iPad a taste of modernity? Hit the more coverage link to find the main ingredient for this DIY project.
GetGlue goes iPad
GetGlue users who have iPads have a reason to get happy today -- there's an official GetGlue iPad app available in the App Store. We talked about the Glue social network and iPhone app when it debuted a few months ago, and Glue is now quite popular. It's great to see the GetGlue app on the big screen now, and you can even get a special "iPader" sticker (one of the common bonuses for achievements in GetGlue) for using your iPad to check in. The free app does an outstanding job of utilizing the extra real estate on the iPad display, and makes it much easier to follow what your friends are watching, reading, or thinking about. As noted in a phone call about GetGlue that I participated in yesterday, the new app allows for a more immersive conversation with friends. In other GetGlue news, the company has reward partnerships in place with FOX, HBO, Showtime, PBS and Universal Pictures. The FOX deal is brand new, and there will be special rewards for fans of the popular Glee and Bones series. Later in the month, GetGlue and FOX will be providing incentives for fans to watch two new series premieres for Raising Hope and Lone Star. HBO has placed a lot of special GetGlue posts on their website, and fans can get exclusive stickers for influencing friends or dropping comments. The network is planning on special incentives for the new Boardwalk Empire and Eastbound and Down series, encouraging users to get stickers for watching the trailers and checking in during each episode. PBS is planning on joining in on the fun when they provide special rewards to viewers of new mini-series this year who check in while watching the shows live. It should be a fun fall TV season, and GetGlue is there to add to your enjoyment.
Glue: The social network and iPhone app you can get stuck in
Although it drives my wife nuts, I like social networking apps. I've been tweeting since the Twitter bird first hatched from a little blue egg and I leave a trail of FourSquare check-ins wherever I wander. On the other hand, it seems like that for every really cool social network that appears, there are a lot of them that I use once and then drop. When I first heard about Glue, my instinct was to give it a try and then move on. However, what I've found is another fun tool that is quite a bit different from FourSquare (which is all about locations) and Twitter. Glue is described as a "social network for entertainment," and that's a very good description. Instead of FourSquare's "Where am I now?" and Twitter's "What am I doing?," Glue asks what you're currently up to -- watching a TV show, listening to music, reading a book, watching a movie, playing a video game, chatting about a celebrity, thinking about a topic, or drinking wine. Glue builds a profile of your likes and dislikes by letting you rate a number of items in each category. Like FourSquare, Glue rewards your activity with stickers (FourSquare calls them badges) that give you bragging rights among your peers. I'm happy to report that due to my vast amounts of dislikes when it comes to current movies and music, I have acquired the "Debbie Downer" sticker. Unlike FourSquare, once you've unlocked 7 stickers, Glue gives you a way to get real (not virtual) stickers to paste on your laptop, iPad case, or children.
World of WarCrafts: The secret of the ooze
Every Thursday, Shelbi Roach of The Bronze Kettle guides you in creating WoW-inspired crafts using real world mats with World of WarCrafts.Being a mom of two boys, this is definitely a good recipe to have in my bag of tricks. Slime is ultimate fun, and the ingredients are super cheap. The secret to this ooze is clear glue and a small amount of Borax solution. Here is what you will need: 1/2 cup of clear Elmer's glue 1 cup of water Borax Solution (1/4 cup of water + 1/4 teaspoon of Borax) Food Coloring Skull Optional supplies: Broken Weapon Coins Click on the images below to view a gallery of step-by-step instructions. %Gallery-22373% DISCLAIMER: Common sense here; don't eat the slime. Definitely don't eat the Borax.
Researchers create inexpensive, super-strong "nanoglue"
Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have announced that they've developed a new type of glue that's not only inexpensive, but can supposedly bond "nearly anything" together. To create the so-called "nanoglue," the team created a thin layer of "molecular chains" with a carbon backbone and sandwiched it between a thin film of copper and silica (as less-than-realistically depicted above). They then found that the more they heated the "nanosandwich," the stickier it got, ultimately going all the way up to temperature of 700 degrees Celsius before reaching its peak. Not surprisingly, the researchers see a wide range of uses for the glue, including applications in nano and microelectronic devices, not to mention high-heat environments -- for instance, holding paint to the inside of a jet engine. They also don't seem to think it'll have any trouble catching on, costing just $35 for 100 grams -- which, when you get down to the nano level, works out to be quite a bargain.[Via Reuters]
Need to protect your DS Lite? Strapped for cash? Just grab some glue and a pair of old jeans
John Spain, a law student out of Tallahassee, Florida, recently put an old pair of jeans to good use when he crafted a DS Lite case out of one of the legs -- most of the rest went to *shudder* homemade jean shorts (hope you didn't cut 'em too high, John). He added extra pockets to the case for games and headphones, and eventually, his girlfriend is gonna sew on a cute button. Brilliant.John's offering the step-by-step guide, plus a few tips, on his blog. Thanks, John, but we're sticking to the store-bought version.
