Latest Fibers Stories

PHILADELPHIA, March 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Philip Hecht of K&L Gates and Harry Lee of Steptoe & Johnson will chair the "Asbestos Insurance Litigation Conference" at The Hub Cira Centre at 30th Street Station in Philadelphia on April 21, 2010, Tom Hagy, CEO of HB Litigation Conferences, announced today. "Hecht and Lee bring to the program decades of experience handling insurance coverage matters where the underlying claims involve not only asbestos injuries and damage, but other long-term...

CSIRO scientist Dr Tara Sutherland and her team have achieved another important milestone in the international quest to artificially produce insect silk.They have hand-drawn fine threads of honeybee silk from a "˜soup' of silk proteins that they had produced transgenically.These threads were as strong as threads drawn from the honeybee silk gland, a significant step towards development of coiled coil silk biomaterials."It means that we can now seriously consider the uses to which these...

WELLESLEY, Mass., March 1 /PRNewswire/ -- "Ban Asbestos Now," a national campaign to build awareness of the continued use of asbestos in the United States, launched today to educate the public on the dangers of asbestos inhalation and urge Americans to pressure U.S. lawmakers to finally ban this toxic and often deadly substance. It is considered "the largest manmade public health crisis in history" according to the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO). Asbestos has been banned...

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- San Francisco Superior Court Judge Harold E. Kahn will join a group of other respected jurists participating in the "Third Annual Emerging Trends in Asbestos Litigation" conference March 3-5, 2010 in Marina del Rey, just outside Los Angeles, according to Tom Hagy, CEO of HB Litigation Conferences. "We are proud to announce yet another judge who is critical to managing the massive and ongoing asbestos litigation," Hagy said. "When Presiding Judge James...

In research that gives literal meaning to the term "power suit," University of California, Berkeley, engineers have created energy-scavenging nanofibers that could one day be woven into clothing and textiles.These nano-sized generators have "piezoelectric" properties that allow them to convert into electricity the energy created through mechanical stress, stretches and twists."This technology could eventually lead to wearable 'smart clothes' that can power hand-held...

WELLESLEY, Mass., Feb. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- "Ban Asbestos Now," a campaign to build awareness of the continued use of asbestos in the United States, today launched the Ban Asbestos Now Video Search, asking students across the United States to use their creativity to draw national attention to the toxic, and often deadly, substance considered "the largest manmade public health crisis in history" according to the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO). Each year, 2000-3000 people are...

A spider may be the reason fog-catching nets, which provide precious water in rain-starved parts of the world, may be ready for a high-tech upgrade. Chinese scientists reported their research in the journal Nature on why spider's silk is not only famous for strength but also terrific for collecting water from the air, sparing the creature the hunt for a drink. The secret lies in the silk's tail-shaped protein fibers that change structure in response to water. The tiny section of thread...

BANGKOK, Jan. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Thai Airways International Public Company Limited won the prestigious "Suriyasasithorn" calendar design awards for 2010 in two categories: Best General Notebook Calendar and Best Creativity and Design. The awards were given by the Public Relations Society of Thailand. To mark its 50th anniversary, THAI created the 'A Journey of Silk' calendar to greet Thai and international passengers worldwide and spread joy during the holiday season. Each calendar is...

SALT LAKE CITY, Jan. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Naturally Advanced Technologies Inc. (NAT, OTC Bulletin Board: NADVF, TSXV: NAT), a company committed to producing renewable and environmentally sustainable textile fibers, has teamed up with Patrick Yarns, a world leader in the manufacture of high-performance industrial yarns, to give industry insiders a sneak peek at a group of new sustainable yarns made from CRAiLAR® Organic Fibers, a wholly owned subsidiary of NAT, at the upcoming...

The cellulose produced by bacteria could be used for artificial blood vessels in the future as it carries a lower risk of blood clots than the synthetic materials currently used for bypass operations, reveals a thesis from the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.Produced by a bacterium known as Acetobacter xylinum, the cellulose is strong enough to cope with blood pressure and works well with the body's own tissue. The thesis shows that the material also carries a...