A strange new substance acts like a liquid when exposed to air, but takes a solid shape when it's dunked in water.
The new stuff is a metamaterial, scientists' word for a lab-made material that has properties uncommon in nature. Even among metamaterials, however, this material is unusual -- it's composed of artificial DNA, while most metamaterials are composed of nonbiological chemicals such as silicon or copper. Its creators are calling it a "meta-hydrogel."
In the future, metamaterials made of biological stuff could go into soft, flexible circuits, according to a statement from Cornell University, where the meta-hydrogel was made. Because they have pores in which drug molecules could fit, meta-hydrogels could help release medicines slowly inside the body, the statement said.
Adding to its unusual properties, the new meta-hydrogel remembers its original shape. If it's made in a mold, it will return to its original, molded shape every time it's doused in water, even after researchers expose it to air -- and force it into its liquidlike state -- several times. The researchers made a video that shows the meta-hydrogel firming up into letters when a researcher adds water to it.
Shades of the alleged Roswell "memory metal." To read more, click here.