The research could help develop new materials that are durable enough for everyday use, but also easy to dissolve from existence.

ENGADGET: Alt-week 2.2.13: SpaceLiners, building a brain and the man made multiverse

The weightless environment provides a unique perspective on physical systems and processes, and is helping researchers to better understand disease and to develop new materials.

BBC: Virgin spaceship aims to be science lab

True, they don't shoot enemies out of the sky, but that, at long last, is coming--along with dozens of new applications for lasers as researchers develop new materials and techniques to generate different types of beams that can be more powerful and precise.

FORBES: Magazine Article

Earlier in 2012, 170 stakeholders convened at the White House to discuss how the materials community could achieve the ambitious target of shrinking the time needed to discover, develop, and utilize new materials.

WHITEHOUSE: $25M in Research Awards to Advance Administration��s Materials Genome Initiative | The White House

They are helping to develop new blast-resistant materials for structures and for body armor.

FORBES: Young Juvenile Makes An Explosive With Baby Powder And Other Tales From The URI Explosives Lab

Now, to help businesses operate at less cost, the Energy Department will develop new manufacturing processes and materials that use half as much energy.

WHITEHOUSE: A Renaissance in American Manufacturing