The function and fate of T cells are dictated by their various dynamic interactions with cells and tissues. This Review discusses the recreation of key T cell interfaces using nanotechnologies and microtechnologies for the mechanistic study of T cell biology, as well as the manufacturing and sorting of T cell products.
One day they may come for us.
Are Berserker probes hunting advanced life? Exploring the deadliest Fermi Paradox solution.
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A research team affiliated with UNIST has introduced a technology that generates electricity from raindrops striking rooftops, offering a self-powered approach to automated drainage control and flood warning during heavy rainfall.
Led by Professor Young-Bin Park of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at UNIST, the team developed a droplet-based electricity generator (DEG) using carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP). This device, called the superhydrophobic fiber-reinforced polymer (S-FRP-DEG), converts the impact of falling rain into electrical signals capable of operating stormwater management systems without an external power source. The findings are published in Advanced Functional Materials.
CFRP composites are lightweight, yet durable, and are used in a variety of applications, such as aerospace and construction because of their strength and resistance to corrosion. Such characteristics make it well suited for long-term outdoor installation on rooftops and other exposed urban structures.
Increased stiffness of the colon, spurred by chronic inflammation, may encourage the development and progression of early-onset colorectal cancer (CRC), a study co-led by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers suggests. The findings, published in Advanced Science, could lead to new ways to prevent and treat this deadly subset of CRC.
“We consider this study a significant advancement toward identifying those at risk of early-onset CRC and finding new ways to treat them,” said Emina Huang, M.D., M.B.A., Professor of Surgery in the Division of Colon and Rectal Surgery and Executive Vice Chair of Research for Surgery at UT Southwestern. She is also Professor of Biomedical Engineering and in the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center.
UT Southwestern partnered with researchers from The University of Texas at Dallas on the study.
Perovskite solar cells have garnered widespread attention as a low-cost, high-efficiency alternative to conventional silicon photovoltaics. However, defects in perovskite films impede charge transport, resulting in energy loss and compromised operational stability.
One solution to this problem is “passivation treatment”—a process that adds chemicals such as simple salts or organic molecules to the film. These small molecules or ions latch onto defects in the perovskite material, preventing the defects from interfering with electrical flow. Unfortunately, verifying the internal efficacy of various passivation treatments remains challenging since most characterization techniques only probe the surface or provide averaged macroscopic information.
Now, however, researchers at the Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering (NIMTE) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) have made an important breakthrough by developing a three-dimensional (3D) electrical imaging technique that directly reveals how defect passivation treatments work in perovskite films. The study was published in Newton on December 31.
“There was no existing theory in the ferroelectrics community that could explain these results,” Liu explained.
Keeping Chaos at Bay with Small Amounts of Energy
To unlock the advanced material’s performance and open up potential commercial applications, Haixue Yan, a reader in materials science and engineering from Queen Mary University of London, explored several different ideas. That search effort led him to Liu’s relatively new zentropy theory idea. According to a statement announcing the new approach, zentropy theory suggests that systems trend towards disorder “if no energy is applied to keep the chaos at bay.”
Five sci-fi technologies becoming real today, from BCIs to space elevators.
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Credits:
5 Sci-Fi Fantasies That Could Soon Become Reality.
Written, Produced & Narrated by: Isaac Arthur.
Editor: Donagh Broderick.
Select imagery/video supplied by Getty Images.
Chapters.
0:00 Intro.
1:52 Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCI)
6:26 Dream Recording & Memory Replay.
8:48 Artificial Wombs & Designer Babies.
16:13 Bio.
18:56 Space Elevators.
21:12 Weather Control.
21:30 Graphene.
22:15 De-Extinciton.
21:40 Superconductors & Fusion.
27:23 Oldest & Newest.
28:26 Preserving & Rebuilding the Human Body.
Within tumors in the human body, there are immune cells (macrophages) capable of fighting cancer, but they have been unable to perform their roles properly due to suppression by the tumor. A KAIST research team led by Professor Ji-Ho Park of the Department of Bio and Brain Engineering have overcome this limitation by developing a new therapeutic approach that directly converts immune cells inside tumors into anticancer cell therapies.
In their approach, when a drug is injected directly into a tumor, macrophages already present in the body absorb it, produce CAR (a cancer-recognizing device) proteins on their own, and are converted into anticancer immune cells known as “CAR-macrophages.” The paper is published in the journal ACS Nano.
Solid tumors —such as gastric, lung, and liver cancers—grow as dense masses, making it difficult for immune cells to infiltrate tumors or maintain their function. As a result, the effectiveness of existing immune cell therapies has been limited.
Researchers from the Institute of Metal Research (IMR) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have developed an innovative flexible sensor that can simultaneously detect strain, strain rate, and temperature using a single active material layer, representing a significant advance in multimodal sensing technology.
The study, published in Nature Communications, addresses the longstanding challenge of conventional sensors requiring complex multilayer designs that integrate different materials for distinct sensing functions. These traditional approaches often involve complicated signal acquisition and external power supplies, limiting their reliability in continuous monitoring applications.
Led by Prof. Tai Kaiping, the researchers designed the sensor based on a specially designed network of tilted tellurium nanowires (Te-NWs). Through material and structural engineering, they overcame a fundamental limitation where thermoelectric and piezoelectric signals could not be collected in the same direction within conventional materials. In this unique architecture, both signals are simultaneously detected and output in the out-of-plane direction.