Ever-shrinking electronic devices could get down to atomic dimensions with the help of transition metal oxides, a class of materials that seems to have it all: superconductivity, magnetoresistance and other exotic properties.

Research from North Carolina State University, Raleigh, finds that impurities can hurt performance—or possibly provide benefits—in a key superconductive material that is expected to find use in a host of applications, including future particle colliders.

Americans generate nearly 300 million scrap tires every year, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Historically, these worn tires often end up in landfills or, when illegally dumped, become breeding grounds for disease-carrying mosquitoes and rodents. They also pose a potential fire hazard.

Inspired by the fist-like club of a mantis shrimp, a team of researchers led by University of California, Riverside, in collaboration with University of Southern California and Purdue University, developed a design structure for composite materials that is more impact resistant and tougher than the standard used in airplanes.

Carpenter Technology Corp., Wyomissing, Pa., has expanded its Project 70+ PDB stainless portfolio of precision machining bar designed for CNC Swiss-style screw machines by adding Project 70+ PDB Custom 630 (17Cr-4Ni) stainless steel.