News & Comment

Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) lacks sufficient haptic feedback to the surgeon due to the length and flexibility of surgical tools. This haptic disconnect is exacerbated in robotic-MIS, which utilizes tele-operation to control surgical tools. Tactile sensation in MIS and robotic-MIS can be restored in a safe and conformable manner through soft sensors and soft haptic feedback devices.

The production of conventional meat contributes to climate change and uses up around 70% of available arable land. Cultured meat is emerging as a potential solution, but presently can be only produced at the pilot scale. Biofabrication technologies developed for biomedical applications could be leveraged to introduce automation and standardization in the production of cultured meat, accelerating its path to market.

An article in Nature Electronics introduces a single-step platform for integrating 2D materials into functional devices, addressing a fundamental constraint in van der Waals integration.

An article in Advanced Healthcare Materials reports a 4D-printed hydrogel dressing that shrinks at body temperature and promotes healing in chronic diabetic wounds.

An article in Science reports an exceptionally warm and thin sweater knitted from stretchy aerogel fibres, whose core–shell structures are inspired by the fur of polar bears.

An article in Nature Communications reports 3D-printed personalized liver models that can self-heal and are as soft as real livers.

An article in Nature Communications reports a dynamic gelation strategy to fabricate strong aerogel fibres at high speed and large scale.

An article in Nature Chemistry discovers that the two light-controlled isomers of azobenzene also have very different rupture forces.

An article in Science presents a method for deep-penetration volumetric printing.

An article in Nature Communications presents a method for converting wood into superblack materials.

Biochar is proposed as a promising solution for sustainable development, but proper risk management and careful evaluation are essential when considering its use. It is crucial to acknowledge the limitations of biochar and recognize that it is not a magic bullet for green technologies.

Higher education and research institutions are critical to the well-being and success of societies, meaning their financial support is strongly in the public interest. At the same time, value-for-money principles demand that such investment delivers. Unfortunately, these principles are currently violated by one of the biggest sources of public funding inefficiency: sexism.

3D printing can be used to automate the manufacturing of building elements for large-scale structures such as skyscrapers, aircraft, rockets and space bases without human intervention. However, challenges in materials, processes, printers and software control must first be overcome for large-scale 3D printing to be adopted for widespread applications.

An article in Nature Physics presents experimental evidence for spinaronic states in Co atoms on a Cu(111) surface.

An article in Nano Letters reports the growth of large-size iron oxide-based 2D magnets.

An article in Advanced Materials describes a strategy to obtain transition metal dichalcogenide heterostructures with controlled phases.

An article in Nature Communications presents a general method to create intermixed 2D/3D heterostructures to improve the stability of all-perovskite tandem solar cells.

An article in ACS Nano presents an environmentally friendlier way to produce clean palladium nanosheets.

An article in Nano Letters presents a strategy for the growth of single-crystal bismuthene by sandwiching it between hexagonal boron nitride and copper.

An article in Angewandte Chemie International Edition resurfaces metal halide perovskite nanocrystals with a reactive, liquid ligand to produce efficient and stable red perovskite light-emitting diodes.