Soft robotics, which uses flexible and deformable materials, is an emerging field in autonomous systems. It has recently been applied to next-generation tasks such as deep-sea sampling with soft robotic grippers—requiring strong adhesion and autonomous detachment. Bioinspired adhesion offers a promising solution. In nature, gecko feet, mussel proteins, and octopus suction cups achieve efficient, reversible adhesion for underwater tasks like object pickup, movement in tight spaces, and surface attachment. Inspired by these, researchers have developed ...

Hydrogels are soft, water-rich polymeric materials that can swell or shrink in response to environmental stimuli. This ability to change shape makes them valuable in miniaturized devices for flexible electronics, microrobotics, intelligent surfaces, and biomedical applications such as drug delivery. For example, hydrogel pores can be engineered to trap and release tiny drug particles on demand. However, most current hydrogel pores use circular designs, which limit control over shape change and lead to unpredictable, slow actuation. They often close unevenly and recover poorly, reducing their precision and reliability. To address ...

In stoichiometric compounds (compounds with fixed ratios of elements), the elemental ratios are dictated by chemical stability, which constrains how much the composition, and consequently the number of valence electron-per-atom (e/a) ratio, can be adjusted. Tuning e/a has been proved to be a promising strategy to architecture magnetic properties in many intermetallic compounds, especially those with complex structures including quasicrystals (QCs) and their structurally related approximant crystals (ACs). Owing to their structural complexity, their electronic properties are sensitive to the number of valence electron-per-atom (e/a). Stoichiometric ...

In recent decades, communication technology has advanced at unprecedented speed. A key breakthrough is semantic communications—a shift from transmitting raw data to conveying semantic meaning. For example, in image transmission, meaning takes priority over pixel-level accuracy. By integrating user tasks into the communication process, semantic communications improve both efficiency and user experience. While deep learning has accelerated progress, a transition from analog to digital modulation is essential for compatibility ...

Bulimia nervosa (BN), or bulimia, is a mental health disorder characterized by binge eating and a fear of gaining weight, which drives people to try and avoid weight gain, usually by compensatory (vomiting etc.). Over time, this binge–purge cycle harms both physical and mental health of the individual, leading to problems like dehydration, low blood pressure, depression, and even self-harm. BN mostly affects young women and often begins in their teenage years, with studies showing that up to three percent of women may experience BN at some point in their lives, putting them at higher risk if left untreated. BN is thought to develop ...

Pressure sensors are crucial in many emerging applications, but traditional designs are often bulky or inflexible. In a recent study, researchers from Japan developed a fiber-shaped pressure sensor that overcomes this limitation by increasing—rather than decreasing—its resistance when compressed. Owing to a unique multi-walled conductive core made from graphene nanoplatelets, these fibers could enable fine-tuned tactile sensing for next-generation smart textiles and robotic grippers. The need for pressure sensors has been steadily increasing across diverse applications, from robotic grippers that need accurate tactile ...

Deforestation in tropical countries could contribute to increased deaths from heat exposure in nearby populations, new research has shown.    Published today in the journal Nature Climate Change, the research was led by Dr Carly Reddington and Professor Dominick Spracklen, from the University of Leeds’ School of Earth and Environment.    The study, which analysed areas across Central and South America, Africa and South-East Asia, found that local climate heating caused by tropical deforestation has exposed over 300 million people to increased temperatures and is associated with 28,000 ...

An innovative backpack, incorporating aerospace technology, shows promise as a balance aid for patients with the movement disorder ataxia. Research conducted by Radboud university medical center, in collaboration with Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) and Erasmus MC, reveals that the backpack helps individuals with ataxia stand and walk more steadily, reducing their reliance on mobility aids like walkers. Ataxia is a neurological condition in which the cerebellum, the part of the brain responsible for coordination, functions improperly. This leads to issues with balance and coordination, increasing the risk of falls. Dr. Jorik Nonnekes, rehabilitation ...

Volcanic eruptions can have dramatic consequences. But how can we anticipate this phenomenon, which unfolds up to tens of kilometres beneath the surface? A team from the University of Geneva (UNIGE), in collaboration with the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) in Italy, has successfully recreated a 3D model of the interior of the Vulcano volcano, located in northern Sicily. This image, produced with unprecedented accuracy, was obtained by combining nodal seismic networks and artificial intelligence. Published in Nature Communications, these results represent a major breakthrough ...

Clues about how worlds like Earth may have formed have been found buried at the heart of a spectacular 'cosmic butterfly'. With the help of the James Webb Space Telescope, researchers say they have made a big leap forward in our understanding of how the raw material of rocky planets comes together. This cosmic dust – tiny particles of minerals and organic material which include ingredients linked to the origins of life – was studied at the core of the Butterfly Nebula, NGC 6302, which is located about ...

Researchers from the University of Southampton have found that people with emotional insecurities are more affected than others when their partners choose their phone over them. The researchers have conducted a study into ‘phubbing’ – a mashup of ‘phone’ and ‘snubbing’ used to describe the all too familiar scenario where the person you are talking to shuns you to look at their phone. The team wanted to find out how people with different ways of thinking and feeling about their relationship would respond to being ‘phubbed’. The results have been published in the Journal of Personality. Dr Claire Hart, ...

Key takeaways  New research shows that treatment of heart failure patients with a type of anti-obesity medication reduces the environmental footprint of healthcare, as well as improving clinical outcomes.   People being treated for heart failure with GLP-1 receptor antagonists used 0.25 kg CO₂-equivalent less per person annually, compared to patients with heart failure taking a placebo. When this saving is scaled to the millions of people eligible for the treatment, the findings suggest that 2 ...

Key take-aways New research has found that a type of automatic chest compression is more effective to carry out CPR in space than the ‘handstand method’ that is currently recommended in emergency protocols for spaceflight. Treating cardiac arrest during spaceflight is challenging because both the rescuer and the patient are floating due to microgravity, which makes doing chest compressions challenging.  The research was conducted in a ‘flying laboratory’ in a modified A310 aircraft at the CNES (French ...

Key take-aways    New research finds that low fitness levels and older age are strong and independent risk factors for heartbeat irregularities, or arrhythmias*, in healthy adults. These arrhythmias were previously thought to be harmless, but are now considered to be an indicator of future cardiovascular risk (1,2)  The results support the introduction of age-based arrhythmia screening in over 50s, to allow for early intervention before symptoms arise to alter the trajectory of disease   There was a particularly strong association between lower aerobic fitness and risk of frequent and complex atrial arrythmias, ...

Sharks can famously replace their teeth, with new ones always growing as they’re using up the current set. As sharks rely on their teeth to catch prey, this is vital to the survival of one of the oceans’ top predators. But the ability to regrow teeth might not be enough to ensure they can withstand the pressures of a warming world where oceans are getting more acidic, new research has found. Researchers in Germany examined sharks’ teeth under different ocean acidification scenarios and showed that more acidic oceans lead to more brittle and weaker teeth. “Shark teeth, despite being composed of highly mineralized phosphates, are still vulnerable to corrosion under ...

Amsterdam, August 27, 2025 – A novel study investigating how physical activity and diet quality interact with different levels and patterns of alcohol consumption shows that healthy eating and increased levels of physical activity significantly lower the risk of alcohol-attributable liver-related mortality. The findings from this comprehensive new study in the Journal of Hepatology, published by Elsevier, use data from a large multi-ethnic US cohort and highlight the importance of considering other lifestyle behaviors when estimating the risk of death from alcohol-related liver disease at a population level. In the US, more than half (53%) of adults over 18 years of age regularly ...

Kyoto, Japan -- Periodical cicadas have one of the strangest life cycles in the animal kingdom. The 17-year cicadas spend 99.5% of their lives underground in an undeveloped nymph state, which is the longest strictly regulated juvenile period among insects. Then in the spring of their 17th year, they simultaneously emerge and the males scream above ground for their four to six week-long adult life. Exactly how these insects are able to control when they mature and emerge has remained a mystery. The long life cycle of periodical cicadas makes rearing nymphs for study extremely difficult. Recently, however, a collaborative team of researchers from both Japan and the ...

A new review published in Artificial Intelligence and Autonomous Systems（AIAS） highlights how artificial intelligence can tackle the pervasive problem of missing traffic data in intelligent transportation systems. The study categorizes and compares leading data imputation methods, offering a clear roadmap for researchers and city planners to improve traffic management and smart city operations. As cities worldwide deploy more sensors and intelligent systems to manage traffic, a hidden problem is undermining their efforts: missing data. Sensor failures, communication dropouts, and harsh environmental conditions often lead to ...

An internationally joint research group between Singapore and Japan has unveiled a blueprint for arranging exotic, knot-like patterns of light into repeatable crystals that extend across both space and time. The work lays out how to build and control “hopfion” lattices using structured beams at two different colors, pointing to future systems for dense, robust information processing in photonics.   Hopfions are three-dimensional topological textures whose internal “spin” patterns weave into closed, interlinked loops. They have been observed ...

Move over gym rats. Bumble bees are now the true masters of macros. In the first long-term, community-level field study of wild bumble bee nutrition, a team of ecologists led by Northwestern University and the Chicago Botanic Garden discovered that wild bees aren’t just flitting from flower to flower, collecting pollen at random. Instead, they are strategically targeting flowers that enable them to carefully balance their protein, fat and carbs. Focusing on pollen consumption, the study revealed that coexisting bee species occupy two distinct nutrient niches. Larger bodied bees with longer tongues prefer pollen that’s ...

A relatively new class of insecticide that can be disseminated on something the size of a sheet of paper offers protection for up to a year against mosquitoes that spread malaria, as well as dengue, West Nile, yellow fever, and Zika, UC San Francisco researchers have found. In a systematic review of more than 25 years of data on some 1.7 million mosquitoes, researchers concluded that this form of repellent — called a “spatial emanator” because it distributes chemicals through the air — can prevent more than ...

Psychotherapy leads to measurable changes in brain structure. Researchers at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) and the University of Münster have demonstrated this for the first time in a study in “Translational Psychiatry” by using cognitive behavioural therapy. The team analysed the brains of 30 patients suffering from acute depression. After therapy, most of them showed changes in areas responsible for processing emotions. The observed effects are similar to those already known from studies on medication. Around ...

New research from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King’s College London, in partnership with the University of Bath, has found that the reasons why a person chooses to use cannabis can increase their risk of developing paranoia.  The use and potency of cannabis is increasing worldwide, and dependence and cannabis-induced psychosis are also greatly increasing as a result, especially in North America. Two new research papers, both using data from Cannabis & Me - the largest survey of its kind - have identified key risk factors associated ...

Nearly 80% of US neurologists prescribing drugs for multiple sclerosis (MS) received at least one pharma industry payment, with higher volume prescribers more likely to be beneficiaries, finds a 5 year analysis of Medicare database payments, published in the open access journal BMJ Open. And those in receipt of these payments were more likely to prescribe that company’s drugs, especially if the sums involved were larger, sustained, and recent, the findings indicate. Because of the lifelong nature of MS, effective therapies are usually continued indefinitely unless a patient’s clinical response changes, explain the researchers. And MS drug prescriptions are ...

A team of astronomers has detected for the first time a growing planet outside our solar system, embedded in a cleared gap of a multi-ringed disk of dust and gas. The team, led by University of Arizona astronomer Laird Close and Richelle van Capelleveen, an astronomy graduate student at Leiden Observatory in the Netherlands, discovered the unique exoplanet using the University of Arizona's MagAO-X extreme adaptive optics system at the Magellan Telescope in Chile, the U of A's Large Binocular Telescope in Arizona and the Very Large Telescope at the European Southern Observatory in Chile. ...