I can't offhand think of how this newly invented material might benefit cancer research or patients, although it might, but it sounds like something that could have a major impact on a good many other areas.
Highlights from the article linked at bottom of this post:
"The material is several times stronger than bulletproof glass, and the amount of force needed to break it is twice that of steel, despite the fact that the material has only about one-sixth the density of steel."
"The researchers were able to do this by developing a new process to form polymers."But perhaps most significantly:
"It can be easily manufactured in large quantities, and the use cases range from lightweight coatings for cars and phones to building blocks for massive structures such as bridges." (Boldface mine)
If it can indeed be made readily available, then it would seem very possible that this could not only be a revolutionary material for building things, but also for steamlining how so many things operate.
For example, the applications in the military sphere could be amazing. (Isn't it interesting that whenever a significant new technology is invented, the first uses of it are usually in the military?). Such as: army tanks made from it that weigh just a fraction of what they do now, and thus able to travel so much faster over terrain; same for jet aircraft, now able to travel much faster on same fuel due to being so much lighter; even body armor for ground soldiers, now totally protected by vests created from the material, but vests so light the soldier hardly knows it's there. In fact, I'm frankly surprised that this invention hasn't been classified so far by the U.S. military, at least until such tanks and jet planes etc. have been invented.
The whole thing reminds me of another extraordinary technological achievement that existed only in science fiction until it became real. In the Star Trek film "The Voyage Home" (1986 ) there is a scene in which the existence of "transparent aluminum" is discussed. Well guess what? Transparent aluminum now exists!
the details:
https://tgnreview.com/2016/06/07/transparent-aluminum-is-real-2/The scene:
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=star+trek+transparent+aluminum+scene&&view=detail&mid=82e90bd5cf9fb6c072e782e90bd5cf9fb6c072e7&rvsmid=089956b703eab08caa32089956b703eab08caa32&form=vdqvap Talk about
life imitating art!
But getting back to the new material at MIT, it's interesting to note that the article doesn't say whether a name for this new thing has been coined yet or not. How about
"plasteel?" Other suggestions?
Any of you engineers care to comment on this? Is this going to be as big as it first seems to be?
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/mit-researchers-create-new-material-as-strong-as-steel-and-light-as-plastic/ar-aatxpuj?ocid=uxbndlbing