For the theme session of WOOD, we will discuss the properties of tree wood and factors which influence these properties. Wood is a natural composite that exhibits a remarkable combination of strength, stiffness and toughness [1]. At the same time being a natural/organic product, it is a structure of infinite variation of detail and design. It is...
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For the theme session of WOOD, I will take a closer look at the microstructure of trees and write about the structure, function and optimization of vessels and tracheids. It is well known that trees suck up the water by their roots und transfer it up to the leaves. When trees are freshly cut, it is interesting to...
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Today I have the honour to introduce our new theme session and write the editorial for the next four weeks, which are going to be all about: WOOD. I am very excited about this theme session. All our previous theme sessions (LIGHT, ICE, SURFACES) had a physical background. Even if not all of our articles...
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While perhaps far from mainstream science, biological surfaces have received a lot of attention in recent decades, especially by the biomimetic community. In fact, many studies surrounding surfaces have become the prime examples of Bionics/Biomimetics, such as the self-cleaning lotus leaves, the super adhesive gecko pads, etc. In this post, I will be focusing on the...
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Over the last few decades, knowledge transfer from biological concepts to generate technical applications has been receiving increasing attention, often inspiring sustainable biomimetic products in the process. In the past weeks, we have discussed about multiple functional surfaces and how they can be implemented into technical applications. For the theme of surfaces, I will discuss...
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Do you remember that wool pullover from your grandma? Yeah, the heavy one with much more than 2 colors or a very tasteful motive on. It is that one that you only wear once a year when your grandma is there. The itchy one. When you think about this pullover your skin turns red. Several...
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Recently, I watched an old family video that we recorded when we were on holidays in the Mediterranean. To my surprise, the only sound I heard was the unpleasant noise of insects that appear in huge numbers in this area. It does not matter how hard I tried every year to see one, they are...
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Sustainability … …a catchy word these days! In times of population growth, climate change and environmental challenges, one should think and act in a sustainable way…right? This can mean reducing meat consumption, avoiding plastic bags or cycling instead of using the car: living a sustainable life can look differently on everyone. But still, one thing...
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Greetings readers, a very happy new year. In our third theme session, we are going to discuss about surfaces. The year started with big news on functional surfaces. Scientists of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have developed a new process to achieve functional surfaces, this process so far was irreversible (1). This provides a...
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Dear followers, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2017. We will take a holiday break of two weeks and be back with a new theme session in the second week of January ’17. This was an exciting year for us. We celebrated our first year anniversary with a week full of videos,...
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