Two new studies from the Indian Institute of Bombay (IIT Bombay), Mumbai, show the importance of defects in the arrangement of atoms in a crystal, called dislocations, in shaping the physical properties of metallic alloys.

Researchers probe properties of the new material, say better for micro- and nanodevices. 

The field of material science has become exciting in the recent past with scientists discovering some remarkable properties and behaviour of novel materials. In one such study,  researchers from the National Institute of Technology, Meghalaya, India, and the New York University Abu Dhabi, UAE have designed a versatile crystal material that can be twisted with heat, bent with light, is elastic and can heal itself by heating or cooling.