Police responded to the area of Beverly Street and Dundas Street North around 6 a.m. Monday for a report of a missing two-year-old boy.
Synthetic fabric inspired by polar bear fur lighter, warmer than cotton: scientists
Researchers say they have successfully made a synthetic version of polar bear fur that is not only lighter than cotton but also warmer.
Three engineers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have developed a two-layered fabric that models not just the bear's fur but also its black skin that helps it stay warm.
The researchers say their work, published on April 5 in the journal , caps an 80-year quest to create a textile that mimics polar bear fur.
They say the fabric is already in development for commercial use.
"While our textile really shines as outerwear on sunny days, the light-heat trapping structure works efficiently enough to imagine using existing indoor lighting to directly heat the body," Wesley Viola, the paper's lead author, said in a published on Monday.
"By focusing energy resources on the 'personal climate' around the body, this approach could be far more sustainable than the status quo."
The researchers say polar bears' white fur is effective at transmitting solar radiation toward their skin.
"But the fur is only half the equation," Trisha L. Andrew, the paper's senior author, said. "The other half is the polar bears' black skin."
Andrew says polar bear fur acts as a "natural fibre optic," conducting sunlight to the skin, which absorbs the light and heats the bear.
At the same time, the fur also helps prevent the skin from radiating too much warmth, akin to a thick blanket that warms itself up and then traps the heat, the researchers say.
The synthetic fabric works in a similar way with a top layer of threads that conducts light to a lower layer made of nylon and coated with a dark material called PEDOT, which warms up.
The researchers say a jacket using this material would be 30 per cent lighter than another made of cotton but would leave the wearer more comfortable at temperatures 10 C colder, as long as the sun is out.
The scientists say a Boston-based company called has already started producing cloth coated in this PEDOT material.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
A rare polar bear showed up on the shores of Iceland. Police shot it
A rare polar bear that was spotted outside a cottage in a remote village in Iceland was shot by police after being considered a threat, authorities said Friday.
Erik Menendez says Ryan Murphy's 'Monsters' is full of 'blatant lies'
Erik Menendez is slamming the 'dishonest portrayal' of his life in Netflix's 'Monsters: The Lyle and Erick Menendez Story.'
Here's one thing you can do to feel happier and more motivated at work, according to a new study
One simple action involving your smartphone could help improve your mental health at work, according to a new study.
Lebanon sees deadliest day of conflict since 2006 as Israeli strikes kill more than 270
Israeli strikes on Monday killed more than 270 Lebanese in the deadliest barrage since the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war as the Israeli military warned residents in southern and eastern Lebanon to evacuate their homes ahead of a widening air campaign against Hezbollah.
There are 'no restrictions' on the right to receive health services in Quebec for English speakers, according to a new clarification document issued by the Quebec Health Ministry on Monday.
A six-year-old boy from northeastern Manitoba who had been missing since last Wednesday has been found dead.
OceanGate co-founder says Titan built from scratch because no one else could meet needs
The co-founder of the company that owned the experimental submersible that imploded en route to the wreckage of the Titanic said Monday the company zeroed in on the use of carbon fibre for the doomed vessel because the company wanted a lightweight, less costly submersible that did not need to be tethered to an expensive mother ship.
Man accused in apparent assassination left note indicating he intended to kill Trump
The man accused in the apparent assassination attempt of Donald Trump at a golf course in Florida left behind a note saying that he intended to kill the former president and maintained in his car a handwritten list of dates and venues where Trump was to appear, the U.S. Justice Department said Monday.
Local Spotlight
Before influencers on social media, Canada’s Jeanne Beker was bringing the world of high fashion down to earth and as Calgary’s Glenbow Museum gets a major make-over, it will include a new exhibition showcasing the pop culture icon.
A sea lion swam free after a rescue team disentangled it near Vancouver Island earlier this week.
A Nova Scotian YouTuber has launched a mini-truck bookmobile.
Cole Haas is more than just an avid fan of the F.W. Johnson Wildcats football team. He's a fixture on the sidelines, a source of encouragement, and a beloved member of the team.
Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.
An anonymous business owner paid off the mortgage for a New Brunswick not-for-profit.
They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.
A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.
Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.