Archive for February, 2017

Outstanding Reviewers for Materials Horizons in 2016

Following the success of Peer Review Week in September 2016 (dedicated to reviewer recognition) during which we published a list of our top reviewers, we are delighted to announce that we will continue to recognise the contribution that our reviewers make to the journal by announcing our Outstanding Reviewers each year.

We would like to highlight the Outstanding Reviewers for Materials Horizons in 2016, as selected by the editorial team, for their significant contribution to the journal. The reviewers have been chosen based on the number, timeliness and quality of the reports completed over the last 12 months.

We would like to say a big thank you to those individuals listed here as well as to all of the reviewers that have supported the journal. Each Outstanding Reviewer will receive a certificate to give recognition for their significant contribution.

Professor Fei Huang, South China University of Technology
Dr Susan Kelleher, University College Dublin
Professor Christine Luscombe, University of Washington
Professor Markus Niederberger, ETH Zurich
Dr Genqiang Zhang, University of Science and Technology of China

We would also like to thank the Materials Horizons board and the materials community for their continued support of the journal, as authors, reviewers and readers.

If you would like to become a reviewer for our journal, just email us with details of your research interests and an up-to-date CV or résumé. You can find more details in our author and reviewer resource centre

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Spider silk strength is in the loop

Discovery of hidden thread in silk of deadly spider inspires material-toughening strategy

Scientists have discovered microscopic metastructures in the web of the recluse spider that offer a blueprint for tough new materials.

Source: © Schniepp Lab The recluse spider spins its ribbon-like silk into loops

At first glance, the venomous yet timid Chilean recluse spider (Loxosceles laeta) seems to be highly disorganised in constructing its web. Traversing its lair, it deposits clumpy bales of silk in a messy, tangled cobweb. Look closer. Work led by Hannes Schniepp at the College of William and Mary, in Virginia, US, in collaboration with Fritz Vollrath at the University of Oxford, UK, has shown that the spider carefully choreographs its spinnerets to sew silk in thousands of micrometre-sized loops. When strained, the loops sequentially open to reveal hidden length in the thread, dissipating energy and staving off breakage.

To read the full article visit Chemistry World.

Toughness-enhancing metastructure in the recluse spider’s looped ribbon silk
S. R. Koebley, F. Vollrath and H. C. Schniepp
Journal Article Mater. Horiz., 2017, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C6MH00473C, Communication

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Hydrogel wound sealant simplifies trauma treatment

Spray-on bandage dissolves on demand

Scientists in the US have developed a hydrogel-based wound sealant that can be easily applied to stem severe bleeding then gently and precisely removed to allow surgery.

On the 3 October 1993, Corporal James Smith, a 21-year-old US army ranger on operations in Mogadishu, bled to death from a gunshot wound to his thigh and pelvis. You might already know the story of that night, recounted in Mark Bowden’s book Black hawk down. The harrowing story of Smith’s death highlights how difficult it can be for a medic to control internal bleeding before it’s too late – especially if they are pinned down at night by enemy fire, hours from surgical help. Even far from the battlefield, haemorrhage is a serious threat to anyone with a severe wound. Each year, it kills more Americans than those who died in the entire Vietnam war.

To read the full article visit Chemistry World.

A hydrogel sealant for the treatment of severe hepatic and aortic trauma with a dissolution feature for post-emergent care
Marlena D. Konieczynska, Juan C. Villa-Camacho, Cynthia Ghobril, Miguel Perez-Viloria, William A. Blessing, Ara Nazarian, Edward K. Rodriguez and Mark W. Grinstaff
Journal Article Mater. Horiz., 2017, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C6MH00378H, Communication

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