Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain
the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in
Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles
and JavaScript.
Thomas Matarazzo and colleagues determine modal frequencies of a suspension bridge and highway bridge from analysis of smartphone datasets during vehicle trips across the bridge. The field results suggest that data from both controlled and uncontrolled crowdsourced smartphone datasets have value in monitoring transportation infrastructure.
Berkey and colleagues quantitatively characterized partial-thickness cutaneous injuries after impact from projectiles simulating ballistic fragments. A corresponding damage model was developed to simulate and predict the cutaneous damage from impact, which could guide protective equipment design and clinical treatment.
Sozos and co-workers present and numerically evaluate photonic neuromorphic hardware using recurrent optical spectrum slicing for use in ultra-fast optical applications. The approach extends optical signal transmission reach to more than four-fold that of two state-of-the-art digital equalizers and reduces power consumption tenfold.
Optoacoustic tomography (OAT) is a hybrid imaging modality that combines optical excitation with ultrasound detection. However, OAT is limited by the lack of available high resolution ultrasound detection systems. Here Hahamovich and colleagues report single-detector OAT capable of high-fidelity imaging using an amplitude mask in planar geometry coded with cyclic patterns for structured spatial acoustic modulation.
Jan Kloppenborg Møller & Goran Goranović and colleagues introduce a data-driven twin methodology which balances physical knowledge with uncertainty quantifications. The approach makes it suited to application of real world problems with inherent unknowns. They demonstrate its application in the modelling and control of membrane water ultrafiltration
Kasidit Toprasertpong and colleagues describe reservoir computing hardware with potential for on-chip integration with existing computing technologies. The approach is based on a ferroelectric field-effect transistor, and can solve computational tasks on time series data including nonlinear time series prediction after training with simple regression.
Yu and colleagues report a modified and flexible Evans-Perkins heat pump cycle integrating heat recovery and storage and demonstrate its application in a prototype heat pump. The recovered heat can be used as an ancillary heat source for the heat pump’s operation and to defrost the heat pump evaporator as necessary.
Shaoyan Zhang and colleagues describe a combined all-optical ultrasound imaging and laser ablation tool. The device, less than 1mm in diameter, enables ablation and simultaneous real-time ablation monitoring of tissue at the mm scale. The device could be used for minimally invasive surgical applications.
Debuisschert and colleagues describe a radio frequency signal analyzer platform utilizing the quantum properties of the nitrogen-vacancy center in single crystal diamond. This platform enables millisecond detection of complex microwave signals over a broad tunable frequency range up to 25 GHz.
Nidhi Sinha, Haowen Yang and colleagues report a microfluidic large-scale integration chip to probe temporal single-cell signalling networks via the delivery of patterns of input signalling molecules. The researchers use their device to investigate drug-induced cancer cell apoptosis and single cell transcription (STAT-1) protein signalling dynamics.
Xumin Gao and colleagues report a robust and waterproof monolithic GaN optoelectronic chip that integrates an energy harvester, light emitting diode and Bragg reflector. The units transform external light into electrical energy and directly activate the integrated LEDs even when attached to freely swimming Carassius auratus fish.
Omid Yaghmazadeh and colleagues explore non-thermal responses to RF radiation in live rodent brains using electrophysiology and 1-photon Ca2+ imaging. They saw no impact of RF energy in metal-free recordings at levels higher than regulatory limits.
Anastasia Koivikko and colleagues report pneumatic strain gauges integrated into a soft robotic gripper which can recognize objects and close autonomously. The approach enables entirely fluidic robotic systems with no need for electrical or optical sensors.
Murray and colleagues report strain distributions in Si/SiGe nanosheet heterostructures using synchrotron x-ray nanodiffraction techniques. The observations and underlying mechanisms provide insights for future nanodevice design and performance prediction.
Hari Vishnu and colleagues use signal processing that exploits sparsity information to visualise dolphin echolocation signals during object interrogation. The approach is then combined with transmission of dolphin-like click signals towards a compact acoustic imaging tool.
A 3D model of a lithium-ion battery reveals that in-plane temperature nonuniformity within electrodes as they charge and discharge is strongly affected by solid-state diffusion processes. The findings hint at methods to diagnose the microscopic mechanisms underlying battery performance.
Space is becoming congested. To manage satellite traffic, Nils Bartels and colleagues introduce and test the feasibility of polarization-modulated satellite laser ranging. This concept could enable precise orbit determination and rapid satellite identification.
Conventional electromagnetic servomotors are incompatible with MRI scanners. Here, Lorne Hofstetter and colleagues design and build an electromagnetic servomotor constructed from non-magnetic components and test their device in a robot operating in a clinical MRI during imaging.
Kevin Wyss and colleagues report the flash synthesis of graphene from end-of-life vehicle plastic waste. A polyurethane/flash graphene composite is also re-flashed back into more graphene. A life cycle assessment suggests environmental benefits compared to other graphene synthetic routes.
Pierre-Alexis Mouthuy and colleagues report the actuation of cell-material constructs in flexible bioreactor chambers inserted into musculoskeletal humanoid robots. This opens up the opportunity of applying realistic biomechanical stresses to tissue engineered constructs during culture.