The University of Malta’s research on materials and structures which defy logic by growing fatter when stretched has attracted huge interest in the international scientific community.

Coordinated by Dr Ruben Gatt and Dr Daphne Attard (of the Metamaterials Unit in the Faculty of Science) with Prof. Joseph N Grima (of the Department of Chemistry), such research could lead to a breakthrough in the healthcare sector – in the area of skin grafts.

The procedure involves the removal of a patient’s undamaged skin to treat other parts of the body, as in burn cases. In cases involving the treatment of large areas, this method has its disadvantages, as the amount of skin which can be removed is quite limited. The mathematical model of the structure developed in Malta could therefore be a game-changer.

The research paper was published last month in Scientific Reports – an online, open-access journal from the publishers of Nature. It immediately caught the eye of the renowned American website Science Daily, which then carried an article on the subject. Created in 1995, Science Daily boasts more than three million monthly visitors and includes over 65,000 research articles.

More in Times of Malta and the e-paper on timesofmalta.com Premium.

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