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Scientists Develop New Hybrid Foam for Construction

A worker constructing a new home. Photo: REUTERS
A worker constructing a new home. Photo: REUTERS
    Cologne, Germany- Majed Al-Khatib
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Scientists Develop New Hybrid Foam for Construction

A worker constructing a new home. Photo: REUTERS
A worker constructing a new home. Photo: REUTERS

Scientists at the German Fraunhofer Institute managed to build a 100% wooden foam that can replace traditional wood in manufacturing, but this time they have developed a hybrid foam of wood and metal that beat old materials with its durability and weightlessness.

Scientists say that such foam can enter the world of industry and construction from its widest door, thanks to its durability and low production costs. It can also be used as a middle layer in a "sandwich" of semiconductor materials in the microelectronic industry. 

Many of Fraunhofer's Institutes, including The Wood Research Institute, The New Materials Production Institute and The Institute for Applied Materials and Research, participated in the production of the new foamy material which has the features of both metal and wood.

Dr. Frauke Bunzel from Fraunhofer Mother Institute (which involves 70 specialized institutes), said that the new foam is non-foldable, which makes it better than most metals and qualifies it to be used between two layers of metal to provide it with an anti-bending property. 

The new material is also suitable for construction because of its durability, light weight and ability to absorb noise, along with a complete thermal isolation without being affected by heat and fire. And because of its acoustic insulation, the new foam can be used to build engines and vehicles to reduce noise, or to build sound barriers on highways. 

The same properties allow the new material to be used in the cladding of facades and ceilings of houses as well, to provide them with the ability to curb noise and resist atmosphere fluctuations. 

It was not easy to mix the wooden foam with metal, Bunzel said. Scientists initially tried to compress the foam by force into the pores of rigid metal foam, but this led the bubbles to enter the metal pores and the wooden fiber to outflow. In a second step, the scientists successfully combined the foam by using the "hammering" technique.

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Monkeys Who Recently Died in Hong Kong's Zoo Had Been Infected with Melioidosis

Giant tubeworms on the seafloor surface at 2,500 meters water depth at the East Pacific Rise, a volcanically active ridge located where two tectonic plates meet on the floor of the Pacific Ocean in this undated photograph.CC BY-NC-SA Schmidt Ocean Institute/Handout via REUTERS
Giant tubeworms on the seafloor surface at 2,500 meters water depth at the East Pacific Rise, a volcanically active ridge located where two tectonic plates meet on the floor of the Pacific Ocean in this undated photograph.CC BY-NC-SA Schmidt Ocean Institute/Handout via REUTERS
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Monkeys Who Recently Died in Hong Kong's Zoo Had Been Infected with Melioidosis

Giant tubeworms on the seafloor surface at 2,500 meters water depth at the East Pacific Rise, a volcanically active ridge located where two tectonic plates meet on the floor of the Pacific Ocean in this undated photograph.CC BY-NC-SA Schmidt Ocean Institute/Handout via REUTERS
Giant tubeworms on the seafloor surface at 2,500 meters water depth at the East Pacific Rise, a volcanically active ridge located where two tectonic plates meet on the floor of the Pacific Ocean in this undated photograph.CC BY-NC-SA Schmidt Ocean Institute/Handout via REUTERS

Nine monkeys who died in Hong Kong's oldest zoo in two days this week had been infected with an endemic disease, possibly after some digging work near their cages, officials said on Friday.

Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Kevin Yeung said in a press briefing that the animals in the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens contracted melioidosis and the disease later caused them to develop sepsis, according to The AP.

Yeung stressed that such infections typically occur through contact with contaminated soil and water and that there is generally no danger to humans from contact with infected animals or people.

“We're saddened by the passing of the nine monkeys,” he said.

Eight monkeys were found dead on Sunday, and another died Monday after displaying unusual behavior. The deceased animals were a De Brazza’s monkey, a common squirrel monkey, four white-faced sakis and three cotton-top tamarins — a species listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

According to Hong Kong's Center for Health Protection, melioidosis is caused by the bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei, which is widespread in soils and muddy water.

Yeung said the park conducted digging work to repair some irrigation pipes under the flower bed near the monkey cages in early October and that the deaths might be related to that.

He said the monkeys might have come into contact with the bacteria after the park's staff walked into their cages with possibly contaminated shoes. Another possibility is that some infected monkeys had close contact with other monkeys, he said.

“The incubation period for melioidosis in primates is about a week and this matched with the period after the soil digging work,” he said.

Edwin Tsui, the controller of the center, said the incident only happened in a single zone and its impact on Hong Kong residents would be very low.

Yeung on Monday held an urgent interdepartmental meeting about the deaths with the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department and the Department of Health.

Another De Brazza’s monkey also displayed unusual behavior and appetite but offiicials said its condition remained stable on Friday.

The Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens — the oldest park in the former British colony — fully opened to the public in 1871. It is a rare urban oasis in the downtown Central district of the financial hub, which returned to Chinese rule in 1997.