A July 1, 2025 news item on Nanowerk highlights research into machine vision, Note: A link has been removed,
In blinding bright light or pitch-black dark, our eyes can adjust to extreme lighting conditions within a few minutes. The human vision system, including the eyes, neurons, and brain, can also learn and memorize settings to adapt faster the next time we encounter similar lighting challenges.
In an article published in Applied Physics Letters (“A back-to-back structured bionic visual sensor for adaptive perception”), researchers at Fuzhou University in China created a machine vision sensor that uses quantum dots to adapt to extreme changes in light far faster than the human eye can — in about 40 seconds — by mimicking eyes’ key behaviors. Their results could be a game changer for robotic vision and autonomous vehicle safety.
“Quantum dots are nano-sized semiconductors that efficiently convert light to electrical signals,” said author Yun Ye. “Our innovation lies in engineering quantum dots to intentionally trap charges like water in a sponge then release them when needed — similar to how eyes store light-sensitive pigments for dark conditions.”
The sensor’s fast adaptive speed stems from its unique design: lead sulfide quantum dots embedded in polymer and zinc oxide layers. The device responds dynamically by either trapping or releasing electric charges depending on the lighting, similar to how eyes store energy for adapting to darkness. The layered design, together with specialized electrodes, proved highly effective in replicating human vision and optimizing its light responses for the best performance.
“The combination of quantum dots, which are light-sensitive nanomaterials, and bio-inspired device structures allowed us to bridge neuroscience and engineering,” Ye said.
Not only is their device design effective at dynamically adapting for bright and dim lighting, but it also outperforms existing machine vision systems by reducing the large amount of redundant data generated by current vision systems.
“Conventional systems process visual data indiscriminately, including irrelevant details, which wastes power and slows computation,” Ye said. “Our sensor filters data at the source, similar to the way our eyes focus on key objects, and our device preprocesses light information to reduce the computational burden, just like the human retina.”
In the future, the research group plans to further enhance their device with systems involving larger sensor arrays and edge-AI chips, which perform AI data processing directly on the sensor, or using other smart devices in smart cars for further applicability in autonomous driving.
“Immediate uses for our device are in autonomous vehicles and robots operating in changing light conditions like going from tunnels to sunlight, but it could potentially inspire future low-power vision systems,” Ye said. “Its core value is enabling machines to see reliably where current vision sensors fail.”
Should you be living in an area where there’s lots of salt water but not much drinking water this July 2, 2025 news item on Nanowerk is likely to be of special interest, Note: A link has been removed,
Most of Earth’s water is in the oceans and too salty to drink. Desalination plants can make seawater drinkable, but they require large amounts of energy. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Energy Letters (“Size-Insensitive Vapor Diffusion Enabled by Additive Freeze-Printed Aerogels for Scalable Desalination”) have developed a sponge-like material with long, microscopic air pockets that uses sunlight and a simple plastic cover to turn saltwater into freshwater. A proof-of-concept test outdoors successfully produced potable water in natural sunlight in a step toward low-energy, sustainable desalination.
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Caption: This isn’t a paper chain, it’s a 3D-printed material that soaks up seawater, purifying it into salt-free water. Credit: Adapted from ACS Energy Letters 2025, DOI: 10.1021/acsenergylett.5c01233
This isn’t the first time scientists have created spongy materials that use sunlight as a sustainable energy source for cleaning or desalinating water. For example, a loofah-inspired hydrogel with polymers inside its pores was tested on chromium-contaminated water and, when heated by the sun, the hydrogel quickly released a collectible, clean water vapor through evaporation. But while hydrogels are squishy and liquid-filled, aerogels are more rigid, containing solid pores that can transport liquid water or water vapor. Aerogels have been tested as a means of desalination, but they are limited by their evaporation performance, which declines as the size of the material increases. So, Xi Shen and colleagues wanted to design a porous desalination aerogel that maintained its efficiency at different sizes.
The researchers made a paste containing carbon nanotubes and cellulose nanofibers and then 3D-printed it onto a frozen surface, allowing each layer to solidify before the next was added. This process formed a sponge-like material with evenly distributed tiny vertical holes, each around 20 micrometers wide. They tested square pieces of the material, ranging in size from 0.4 inches wide (1 centimeter) to about 3 inches wide (8 centimeters), and found that the larger pieces released water through evaporation at rates as efficient as the smaller ones.
In an outdoor test, the researchers placed the material in a cup containing seawater, and it was covered by a curved, transparent plastic cover. Sunlight heated the top of the spongy material, evaporating just the water, not the salt, into water vapor. The vapor collected on the plastic cover as liquid, moving the now clean water to the edges, where it dripped into a funnel and container below the cup. After 6 hours in natural sunlight, the system generated about 3 tablespoons of potable water.
“Our aerogel allows full-capacity desalination at any size,” Shen says, “which provides a simple, scalable solution for energy-free desalination to produce clean water.”
The authors acknowledge funding from the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong SAR, the Environment and Conservation Fund of Hong Kong SAR, and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
Caption: The bio-inspired metasurfaces act like a real cloud, enabling daytime cooling, heating and thermal camouflage in a single solution. Credit: Mady Elbahri / Aalto University
While I don’t have a military story for today (Remembrance Day, November 11, 2025), there is the ‘camouflage’ story. A June 30, 2025 news item on Nanowerk announces research into mimicking clouds,
How does a cloud stay cool under direct sunlight –– or seem to vanish in infrared? In nature, phenomena like white cumulus clouds, grey storm systems, and even the hollow hairs of polar bears offer remarkable lessons in balancing temperature, colour and invisibility. Inspired by these atmospheric marvels, researchers have now created a nanoscale ‘cloud’ metasurface capable of dynamically switching between white and grey states — cooling or heating on demand –– all while evading thermal detection.
There is a major global push for passive, energy-efficient thermal management in building materials, wearables, sensors and defence applications. This newly invented system fits perfectly into emerging fields like radiative cooling, adaptive coatings, and thermal heating and thermal camouflage under climate and security pressures.
Much like the transformation from bright cumulus to dark cumulonimbus clouds, this metasurface uses multiple scattering, absorption and polarizonic reflection principles to modulate light and heat. In its ‘white’ state, it strongly backscatters sunlight to enable radiative cooling, while the ‘grey’ state absorbs sunlight efficiently for high-performance heating. Crucially, both states remain ‘invisible’ to infrared sensors due to low mid-infrared emissivity — something no previous surface has achieved.
‘We’ve engineered a nanoscale cloud on every surface. It can tune its colour and temperature like a real cloud — between cooling white and heating grey — while staying hidden from thermal cameras,’ Professor Mady Elbahri from Aalto University explains.
Both white and grey metasurfaces overcome limitations of traditional coatings
Typical white paints cool surfaces by scattering sunlight in all directions, but they still glow in heat vision. This new material works more like a cloud — cooling by bouncing sunlight back and staying hidden from heat sensors.
Conventional white coatings (e.g., titanium dioxide, TiO₂ based) scatter sunlight diffusively, but are only effective in shaded conditions or at night. Their high emissivity in the 8–13 μm range makes them bright in thermal infrared imaging, limiting use in thermal stealth. ‘This new white plasmonic metasurface scatters sunlight through disordered metallic nanostructures while minimising thermal emission — cooling surfaces in full sunlight and remaining thermally camouflaged. This feature makes the innovation groundbreaking,’ says Adel Assad, a PhD student in the group.
Black materials get hot in the sun but also light up thermal cameras as they emit infrared strongly.
‘This grey surface gets hotter than black—but without sending out heat that can be seen by heat sensors. This could be a game-changer for smart textiles, building materials, and camouflage, says Moheb Abdelaziz, a postdoctoral researcher in the group.
Great potential grows from humble beginnings
The research opens new pathways in adaptive surface engineering. Potential applications span from zero-energy building facades that switch between heating and cooling to smart textiles that regulate body temperature without electronics. The discovery also presents opportunities in low-visibility sensors and devices for defence and surveillance.
The next step for the research is to explore dynamic coatings using electrochromic or phase-changing layers for real-time, user-controlled switching between states.
The researchers are proud that the remarkable findings came despite an initial project rejection.
‘With no dedicated funding after initial setbacks, we relied on shared vision and collaboration –– especially with our partners in Germany –– to turn doubt into discovery. It’s proof that science, like clouds, can rise against the odds,’ says Elbahri.
Spinal cord injuries are currently incurable with devastating effects on people’s lives, but now a trial at Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland offers hope for an effective treatment.
Spinal cord injuries shatter the signal between the brain and body, often resulting in a loss of function.”Unlike a cut on the skin, which typically heals on its own, the spinal cord does not regenerate effectively, making these injuries devastating and currently incurable,” says lead researcher Dr Bruce Harland, a senior research fellow in the School of Pharmacy at Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland.
Before birth, and to a lesser extent afterwards, naturally occurring electric fields play a vital role in early nervous system development, encouraging and guiding the growth of nerve tissue along the spinal cord. Scientists are now harnessing this same electrical guidance system in the lab.An implantable electronic device has restored movement following spinal cord injury in an animal study, raising hopes for an effective treatment for humans and even their pets.
“We developed an ultra-thin implant designed to sit directly on the spinal cord, precisely positioned over the injury site in rats,” Dr Harland says.
The device delivers a carefully controlled electrical current across the injury site.
“The aim is to stimulate healing so people can recover functions lost through spinal-cord injury,” Professor Darren Svirskis, director of the CatWalk Cure Programme at the University’s School of Pharmacy says.
Unlike humans, rats have a greater capacity for spontaneous recovery after spinal cord injury, which allowed researchers to compare natural healing with healing supported by electrical stimulation.
After four weeks, animals that received daily electric field treatment showed improved movement compared with those who did not.
Throughout the 12-week study, they responded more quickly to gentle touch.
“This indicates that the treatment supported recovery of both movement and sensation,” Harland says.
“Just as importantly, our analysis confirmed that the treatment did not cause inflammation or other damage to the spinal cord, demonstrating that it was not only effective but also safe.”
This new study, published in a leading journal, has come out of a partnership between the University of Auckland and Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden. See Nature Communications.
“Long term, the goal is to transform this technology into a medical device that could benefit people living with these life-changing spinal-cord injuries,” says Professor Maria Asplund of Chalmers University of Technology.
“This study offers an exciting proof of concept showing that electric field treatment can support recovery after spinal cord injury,” says doctoral student Lukas Matter, also from Chalmers University.
The next step is to explore how different doses, including the strength, frequency, and duration of the treatment, affect recovery, to discover the most effective recipe for spinal-cord repair.
An international research team, including scientists from the Institut de Neurociències at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), has developed a new solution to reduce the immune response triggered by neural prosthetics used after limb amputations or severe nerve injuries. The approach consists of coating the electronic implants (which connect the prosthetic device to the patient’s nervous system) with a potent anti-inflammatory drug. This coating helps the body better tolerate the implant, improving its long-term performance and stability.
Neural electrode implants are commonly used in prosthetics to restore communication between the device and the nervous system. However, their long-term effectiveness can be compromised by the body’s natural immune reaction to foreign objects, which leads to the formation of scar tissue around the implant and can impair its function.
Now, a recent study published in Advanced Healthcare Materials by researchers from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, the Università di Ferrara, the University of Freiburg, and Chalmers University of Technology, conducted as part of the European collaborative project BioFINE, reports a novel method to improve the biocompatibility and chronic stability of these electrodes.
The technique involves activating and modifying the surface of polyimide (a material commonly used for implanted electrodes) using a chemical strategy that enables the covalent binding of the anti-inflammatory drug dexamethasone. This innovation allows the drug to be released at the implant site slowly over at least two months, a critical period when the immune system typically mounts its strongest response.
Biological tests showed that this approach reduces inflammation-related signals in immune cells, while maintaining the material’s biocompatibility and mechanical integrity. Animal testing further confirmed that the dexamethasone-releasing implants significantly reduce immune reactions and scar tissue formation around the device.
These findings suggest that the slow and localized release of dexamethasone from the implant surface could extend the functional lifespan of neural prostheses, offering a promising step forward in addressing the long-term challenges of implantable neurotechnology.
“This is a main step that has to be complemented by the demonstration in vivo that this coating improves the functional performance of chronically implanted electrodes in the peripheral nerves, for stimulating and recording nerve signals”, says Dr. Xavier Navarro, principal investigator of the UAB team in the BioFINE project.
Here’s a link to and a citation for the paper,
Covalent Binding of Dexamethasone to Polyimide Improves Biocompatibility of Neural Implantable Devices by Giulia Turrin, Jose Crugeiras, Chiara Bisquoli, Davide Barboni, Martina Catani, Bruno Rodríguez-Meana, Rita Boaretto, Michele Albicini, Stefano Caramori, Claudio Trapella, Thomas Stieglitz, Yara Baslan, Hanna Karlsson-Fernberg, Fernanda L. Narvaez-Chicaiza, Edoardo Marchini, Alberto Cavazzini, Ruben López-Vales, Maria Asplund, Xavier Navarro, Stefano Carli. Advanced Healthcare Materials Volume 14, Issue 21 August 19, 2025 2405004 First published online: 17 June 2025 OI: https://doi.org/10.1002/adhm.202405004
Nanoparticles (NPs) are materials whose dimensions range from 1 to 1,000 nanometers (nm). Due to their nano-scale dimensions and tunable material properties, NPs have gained interest in the global scientific community in recent years. Applications of NPs in the field of human health include NP-based drug delivery systems and radioactive probe-linked NPs for medical diagnosis. While significant advancements have been achieved in the design and synthesis of NPs, studies investigating the interactions of NPs with important biological macromolecules like proteins remain limited.
To reveal the science behind the protein–nanoparticle interaction and its implications for human health, a team of researchers led by Associate Professor Masakazu Umezawa from the Department of Medical and Robotic Engineering Design, Faculty of Advanced Engineering, Tokyo University of Science, Japan, conducted a series of spectroscopy-based experiments. The research team comprised Mr. Naoya Sakaguchi, a second-year PhD student from the Department of Materials Science and Technology, Faculty of Advanced Engineering, Tokyo University of Science, and Junior Associate Professor Atsuto Onoda from Sanyo-Onoda City University. Their research findings were published online in Langmuir on June 3, 2025.
In their study, the researchers employed bovine serum albumin (BSA) as the main protein of interest and silica NPs (SiNPs) with diameters ranging from 10 nm to 10 μm (10,000 nm). They analyzed the protein–nanoparticle interactions using thioflavin T (ThT) fluorescence, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and circular dichroism (CD).
Explaining the motivation behind the present study, Dr. Umezawa says, “When NPs are administered in vivo, interactions with proteins and other biomolecules may occur, leading to the modulation of their biological effects. Therefore, establishing the safety of NPs along with clarifying the effects of NPs on the secondary structure of proteins is highly important.”
The scientists found that the ThT fluorescence intensity decreased with increasing SiNP size. Notably, a drastic increase in the ThT fluorescence intensity was observed when BSA was mixed with 10 nm-sized SiNPs at a stirring time of one hour. However, when BSA was mixed with the largest SiNPs (10 μm) for longer stirring times up to 48 hours, the ThT fluorescence intensity was markedly higher.
“The increase in β-sheet formation in BSA, the most abundant protein in serum and cerebrospinal fluid, is remarkably high during interaction with 10 nm-sized SiNPs. This shows that ultra-small SiNPs can induce abnormal protein conformation and have the potential to cause pathological conditions like Alzheimer’s disease, which involves the formation of amyloid β-peptides,” states Dr. Umezawa.
Further FT-IR experiments to study the secondary protein structure of BSA revealed varied results. The amount of β-sheet structures in BSA increased with longer stirring times in the presence of 10 μm SiNPs. To gain a better picture of the protein–nanoparticle interaction dynamics, Dr. Umezawa and team turned their attention to CD. Using the Beta Structure Selection (BeStSel) technique, which could specifically detect β-sheet-derived peaks, they found that the α-helical structure of BSA was disrupted by interaction with SiNPs. While the α-helix structure percentage in BSA decreased during interaction with SiNPs, parallel β-sheet protein confirmation was increasingly favored.
In summary, this study reveals the impact of ultra-small NPs on biological macromolecules, like proteins. The insights gained from the protein–nanoparticle interaction can guide the development of safe and effective nanoparticle-based systems for applications in various fields of medical biology.
An interdisciplinary team of experts in green chemistry, engineering and physics at Flinders University in Australia has developed a safer and more sustainable approach to extract and recover gold from ore and electronic waste.
Explained in the leading journal Nature Sustainability, the gold-extraction technique promises to reduce levels of toxic waste from mining and shows that high purity gold can be recovered from recycling valuable components in printed circuit boards in discarded computers.
The project team, led by Matthew Flinders Professor Justin Chalker, applied this integrated method for high-yield gold extraction from many sources – even recovering trace gold found in scientific waste streams.
The progress toward safer and more sustainable gold recovery was demonstrated for electronic waste, mixed-metal waste, and ore concentrates.
“The study featured many innovations including a new and recyclable leaching reagent derived from a compound used to disinfect water,” says Professor of Chemistry Justin Chalker, who leads the Chalker Lab at Flinders University’s College of Science and Engineering.
“The team also developed an entirely new way to make the polymer sorbent, or the material that binds the gold after extraction into water, using light to initiate the key reaction.”
Extensive investigation into the mechanisms, scope and limitations of the methods are reported in the new study, and the team now plans to work with mining and e-waste recycling operations to trial the method on a larger scale.
“The aim is to provide effective gold recovery methods that support the many uses of gold, while lessening the impact on the environment and human health,” says Professor Chalker.
The new process uses a low-cost and benign compound to extract the gold. This reagent (trichloroisocyanuric acid) is widely used in water sanitation and disinfection. When activated by salt water, the reagent can dissolve gold.
Next, the gold can be selectively bound to a novel sulfur-rich polymer developed by the Flinders team. The selectivity of the polymer allows gold recovery even in highly complex mixtures.
The gold can then be recovered by triggering the polymer to “un-make” itself and convert back to monomer. This allows the gold to be recovered and the polymer to be recycled and re-used.
Global demand for gold is driven by its high economic and monetary value but is also a vital element in electronics, medicine, aerospace technologies and other products and industries. However, mining the previous metal can involve the use of highly toxic substances such as cyanide and mercury for gold extraction – and other negative environmental impacts on water, air and land including CO2 emissions and deforestation.
The aim of the Flinders-led project was to provide alternative methods that are safer than mercury or cyanide in gold extraction and recovery.
The team also collaborated with experts in the US and Peru to validate the method on ore, in an effort to support small-scale mines that otherwise rely on toxic mercury to amalgamate gold.
Gold mining typically uses highly toxic cyanide to extract gold from ore, with risks to the wildlife and the broader environment if it is not contained properly. Artisanal and small-scale gold mines still use mercury to amalgamate gold. Unfortunately, the use of mercury in gold mining is one of the largest sources of mercury pollution on Earth.
Professor Chalker says interdisciplinary research collaborations with industry and environmental groups will help to address highly complex problems that support the economy and the environment.
“We are especially grateful to our engineering, mining, and philanthropic partners for supporting translation of laboratory discoveries to larger scale demonstrations of the gold recovery techniques.”
Lead authors of the major new study – Flinders University postdoctoral research associates Dr Max Mann, Dr Thomas Nicholls, Dr Harshal Patel and Dr Lynn Lisboa – extensively tested the new technique on piles of electronic waste, with the aim of finding more sustainable, circular economy solutions to make better use of ever-more-scarce resources in the world. Many components of electronic waste, such as CPU units and RAM cards, contain valuable metals such as gold and copper.
Dr Mann says: “This paper shows that interdisciplinary collaborations are needed to address the world’s big problems managing the growing stockpiles of e-waste.”
ARC DECRA Fellow Dr Nicholls, adds: “The newly developed gold sorbent is made using a sustainable approach in which UV light is used to make the sulfur-rich polymer. Then, recycling the polymer after the gold has been recovered further increases the green credentials of this method.”
Dr Patel says: “We dived into a mound of e-waste and climbed out with a block of gold! I hope this research inspires impactful solutions to pressing global challenges.”
“With the ever-growing technological and societal demand for gold, it is increasingly important to develop safe and versatile methods to purify gold from varying sources,” Dr Lisboa concludes.
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Fast Facts:
Electronic waste (e-waste) is one of the fastest growing solid waste streams in the world. In 2022, an estimated 62 million tonnes of e-waste was produced globally. Only 22.3% was documented as formally collected and recycled.
E-waste is considered hazardous waste as it contains toxic materials and can produce toxic chemicals when recycled inappropriately. Many of these toxic materials are known or suspected to cause harm to human health, and several are included in the 10 chemicals of public health concern, including dioxins, lead and mercury. Inferior recycling of e-waste is a threat to public health and safety.
Miners use mercury, which binds to gold particles in ores, to create what are known as amalgams. These are then heated to evaporate the mercury, leaving behind gold but releasing toxic vapours. Studies indicate that up to 33% of artisanal miners suffer from moderate metallic mercury vapor intoxication.
Between 10 million and 20 million miners in more than 70 countries work in artisanal and small-scale gold mining, including up to 5 million women and children. These operations, which are often unregulated and unsafe, generate 37% of global mercury pollution (838 tonnes a year) – more than any other sector.
Most informal sites lack the funding and training needed to transition towards mercury-free mining. Despite accounting for 20% of the global gold supply and generating approximately US$30 billion annually, artisanal miners typically sell gold at around 70% of its global market value. Additionally, with many gold mines located in rural and remote areas, miners seeking loans are often restricted to predatory interest rates from illegal sources, pushing demand for mercury.
High quality gold recovered from electronic waste in the Flinders University study. Credit: Flinders University
Here’s a link to and a citation for the paper,
Sustainable gold extraction from ore and electronic waste (2025) by Maximilian Mann, Thomas P Nicholls, Harshal D Patel, Lynn S Lisboa, Jasmine MM Pople, Le Nhan Pham, Max JH Worthington, Matthew R Smith, Yanting Yin, Gunther G Andersson, Christopher T Gibson, Louisa J Esdaile, Claire E Lenehan, Michelle L Coote, Zhongfan Jia and Justin M Chalker .Nature Sustainability 8, pages 947–956 (2025) Published online: 26 June 2025 Issue Date: August 2025 DOI: 10.1038/s41893-025-01586-w
A luxurious fiber once reserved exclusively for emperors in ancient times has been brought back to life through the scientific ingenuity of Korean researchers. A team led by Professor Dong Soo Hwang (Division of Environmental Science and Engineering / Division of interdisciplinary bioscience & bioengineering, POSTECH) and Professor Jimin Choi (Environmental Research Institute) has successfully recreated a golden fiber, akin to that of 2,000 years ago, using the pen shell (Atrina pectinata) cultivated in Korean coastal waters. This breakthrough not only recreates the legendary sea silk but also reveals the scientific basis behind its unchanging golden color. The study was recently published in the prestigious journal Advanced Materials.
Sea silk—often referred to as the “golden fiber of the sea”—was one of the most prized materials in the ancient Roman period, used exclusively by figures of high authority such as emperors and popes. This precious fiber is made from the byssus threads secreted by Pinna nobilis, a large clam native to the Mediterranean, which uses the threads to anchor itself to rocks. Valued for its iridescent, unfading golden color, light weight, and exceptional durability, sea silk earned its reputation as the “legendary silk.” A notable example is the Holy Face of Manoppello, a relic preserved for centuries in Italy, which is believed to be made from sea silk.
However, due to recent marine pollution and ecological decline, Pinna nobilis is now an endangered species. The European Union has banned its harvesting entirely, making sea silk an artifact of the past—produced only in minuscule quantities by a handful of artisans.
The POSTECH research team turned their attention to the pen shell Atrina pectinata, a species cultivated in Korean coastal waters for food. Like Pinna nobilis, this clam secretes byssus threads to anchor itself, and the researchers found that these threads are physically and chemically similar to those of Pinna nobilis. Building on this insight, they succeeded in processing pen shell byssus to recreate sea silk.
However, their achievement goes beyond mere replication of its appearance. The team also revealed the scientific secret behind sea silk’s distinctive golden hue and its resistance to fading over time.
The golden color of sea silk is not derived from dyes, but from structural coloration—a phenomenon caused by the way light reflects off nanostructures. Specifically, the researchers identified that the iridescence arises from a spherical protein structure called “photonin,” which forms layered arrangements that interact with light to produce the characteristic shine. Similar to the color seen in soap bubbles or butterfly wings, this structure-based coloration is highly stable and does not fade easily over time.
Moreover, the study revealed that the more orderly the protein arrangement, the more vivid the structural color becomes. Unlike traditional dyeing, this color is not applied but instead generated by the alignment of proteins within the fiber, contributing to the material’s remarkable lightfastness over millennia.
Another significant aspect of this research is the upcycling of pen shell byssus, previously discarded as waste, into a high-value sustainable textile. This not only helps reduce marine waste but also demonstrates the potential of eco-friendly materials that carry cultural and historical significance.
Professor Dong Soo Hwang noted, “Structurally colored textiles are inherently resistant to fading. Our technology enables long-lasting color without the use of dyes or metals, opening new possibilities for sustainable fashion and advanced materials.”
Here’s a link to and a citation for the paper,
Structurally Colored Sustainable Sea Silk from Atrina pectinata by Jimin Choi, Jun-Hyung Im, Young-Ki Kim, Tae Joo Shin, Patrick Flammang, Gi-Ra Yi, David J. Pine, Dong Soo Hwang. Advanced Materials Volume37, Issue30 July 29, 2025 2502820 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202502820 First published online: 29 April 2025
It almost seems as if researchers at the Max Planck Institute have been reading N. Katherine Hayles’ 2025 book, “Bacteria to AI: Human Futures with our Nonhuman Symbionts” mentioned in my October 21, 2025 posting and in my October 23, 2025 posting.
Caption: Hybrid diagnostic collectives consisting of humans and AI make significantly more accurate diagnoses than either medical professionals or AI systems alone. CreditMPI for Human Development
Diagnostic errors are among the most serious problems in everyday medical practice. AI systems—especially large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT-4, Gemini, or Claude 3—offer new ways to efficiently support medical diagnoses. Yet these systems also entail considerable risks—for example, they can “hallucinate” and generate false information. In addition, they reproduce existing social or medical biases and make mistakes that are often perplexing to humans.
An international research team, led by the Max Planck Institute for Human Development and in collaboration with partners from the Human Diagnosis Project (San Francisco) and the Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies of the Italian National Research Council (CNR-ISTC Rome), investigated how humans and AI can best collaborate. The result: hybrid diagnostic collectives—groups consisting of human experts and AI systems—are significantly more accurate than collectives consisting solely of humans or AI. This holds particularly for complex, open-ended diagnostic questions with numerous possible solutions, rather than simple yes/no decisions. “Our results show that cooperation between humans and AI models has great potential to improve patient safety,” says lead author Nikolas Zöller, postdoctoral researcher at the Center for Adaptive Rationality of the Max Planck Institute for Human Development.
Realistic simulations using more than 2,100 clinical vignettes
The researchers used data from the Human Diagnosis Project, which provides clinical vignettes—short descriptions of medical case studies—along with the correct diagnoses. Using more than 2,100 of these vignettes, the study compared the diagnoses made by medical professionals with those of five leading AI models. In the central experiment, various diagnostic collectives were simulated: individuals, human collectives, AI models, and mixed human–AI collectives. In total, the researchers analyzed more than 40,000 diagnoses. Each was classified and evaluated according to international medical standards (SNOMED CT).
Humans and machines complement each other—even in their errors
The study shows that combining multiple AI models improved diagnostic quality. On average, the AI collectives outperformed 85% of human diagnosticians. However, there were numerous cases in which humans performed better. Interestingly, when AI failed, humans often knew the correct diagnosis.
The biggest surprise was that combining both worlds led to a significant increase in accuracy. Even adding a single AI model to a group of human diagnosticians—or vice versa—substantially improved the result. The most reliable outcomes came from collective decisions involving multiple humans and multiple AIs. The explanation is that humans and AI make systematically different errors. When AI failed, a human professional could compensate for the mistake—and vice versa. This so-called error complementarity makes hybrid collectives so powerful. “It’s not about replacing humans with machines. Rather, we should view artificial intelligence as a complementary tool that unfolds its full potential in collective decision-making,” says co-author Stefan Herzog, Senior Research Scientist at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development.
However, the researchers also emphasize the limitations of their work. The study only considered text-based case vignettes—not actual patients in real clinical settings. Whether the results can be transferred directly to practice remains a questions for future studies to address. Likewise, the study focused solely on diagnosis, not treatment, and a correct diagnosis does not necessarily guarantee an optimal treatment.
It also remains uncertain how AI-based support systems will be accepted in practice by medical staff and patients. The potential risks of bias and discrimination by both AI and humans, particularly in relation to ethnic, social, or gender differences, likewise require further research.
Wide range of applications for hybrid human–AI collectives
The study is part of the Hybrid Human Artificial Collective Intelligence in Open-Ended Decision Making (HACID) project, funded under Horizon Europe, which aims to promote the development of future clinical decision-support systems through the smart integration of human and machine intelligence. The researchers see particular potential in regions where access to medical care is limited. Hybrid human–AI collectives could make a crucial contribution to greater healthcare equity in such areas.
“The approach can also be transferred to other critical areas—such as the legal system, disaster response, or climate policy—anywhere that complex, high-risk decisions are needed. For example, the HACID project is also developing tools to enhance decision-making in climate adaptation” says Vito Trianni, co-author and coordinator of the HACID project.
In brief:
Hybrid diagnostic collectives consisting of humans and AI make significantly more accurate diagnoses than either medical professionals or AI systems alone—because they make systematically different errors that cancel each other out.
The study analyzed over 40,000 diagnoses made by humans and machines in response to more than 2,100 realistic clinical vignettes.
Adding an AI model to a human collective—or vice versa—noticeably improved diagnostic quality; hybrid collective decisions made by several humans and machines achieved the best results.
These findings highlight the potential for greater patient safety and more equitable healthcare, especially in underserved regions. However, further research is needed on practical implementation and ethical considerations.
Here’s a link to and a citation for the paper,
Human–AI collectives most accurately diagnose clinical vignettes by Nikolas Zöller, Julian Berger, Irving Lin, Nathan Fu, Jayanth Komarneni, Gioele Barabucci, Kyle Laskowski, Victor Shia, Benjamin Harack, Eugene A. Chu, Vito Trianni, Ralf H. J. M. Kurvers, and Stefan M. Herzog. PNAS June 13, 2025 122 (24) e2426153122 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2426153122
Additionally, more information about HACID can be inferred from its webpage on the AI-on-Demand (AIoD) website, according to these FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions),
What is the AI-on-Demand (AIoD) platform?
The AIoD platform is a collaborative, community-driven digital space that supports European research and innovation in Artificial Intelligence (AI), while promoting the European values of quality, trustworthiness, and explainability.
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Is AIoD only for academic researchers?
Not at all. While it has a strong research foundation, AIoD also serves industry professionals, startups, students, and public organizations interested in leveraging or contributing to AI.
A May 14, 2025 essay (h/t to phys.org) written by Andrew Forbes, professor, University of the Witwatersrand, and Patience Mthunzi-Kufa, distinguished professor, University of South Africa, for The Conversation describes the history, current work, and hopes for photonics on the African continent, Note: Some links have been removed,
Light is all around us, essential for one of our primary senses (sight) as well as life on Earth itself. It underpins many technologies that affect our daily lives, including energy harvesting with solar cells, light-emitting-diode (LED) displays and telecommunications through fibre optic networks.
The smartphone is a great example of the power of light. Inside the box, its electronic functionality works because of quantum mechanics [Note; Link removed]. The front screen is an entirely photonic device: liquid crystals controlling light. The back too: white light-emitting diodes for a flash, and lenses to capture images.
We use the word photonics, and sometimes optics, to capture the harnessing of light for new applications and technologies. Their importance in modern life is celebrated every year on 16 May with the International Day of Light.
Scientists on the African continent, despite the resource constraints they work under, have made notable contributions to photonics research. Some of these have been captured in a recent special issue of the journal Applied Optics [Note: Link removed]. Along with colleagues in this field from Morocco and Senegal, we introduced this collection of papers [Note: Link removed], which aims to celebrate excellence and show the impact of studies that address continental issues.
In more recent times, Africa has contributed to two Nobel prizes based on optics. Ahmed Zewail (Egyptian born) watched the ultrafast processes in chemistry with lasers (1999, Nobel Prize for Chemistry) and Serge Harouche (Moroccan born) studied the behaviour of individual particles of light, photons (2012, Nobel Prize for Physics).
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The papers in the special journal issue touch on a diversity of continent-relevant topics.
Another paper is about tiny quantum sources of quantum entanglement for sensing. The authors used diamond, a gem found in South Africa and more commonly associated with jewellery. Diamond has many flaws, one of which can produce single photons as an output when excited. The single photon output was split into two paths, as if the particle went both left and right at the same time. This is the quirky notion of entanglement, in this case, created with diamonds. If an object is placed in any one path, the entanglement can detect it. Strangely, sometimes the photons take the left-path but the object is in the right-path, yet still it can be detected.
New approaches in spectroscopy (studying colour) [Note: Link removed] for detecting cell health; biosensors to monitor salt and glucose levels in blood; and optical tools for food security all play their part in optical applications on the continent.
Another area of African optics research that has important applications is the use of optical fibres for sensing the quality of soil and its structural integrity. Optical fibres are usually associated with communication, but a modern trend is to use the existing optical fibre already laid to sense for small changes in the environment, for instance, as early warning systems for earthquakes. The research shows that conventional fibre can also be used to tell if soil is degrading, either from lack of moisture or some physical shift in structure (weakness or movement). It is an immediately useful tool for agriculture, building on many decades of research.
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The last century was based on electronics and controlling electrons. This century will be dominated by photonics, controlling photons.
Professor Zouheir Sekkat of University Mohamed V, Rabat, and director of the Pole of Optics and Photonics within MAScIR of University Mohamed VI Polytechnic Benguerir, Morocco, contributed to this article.
Joint feature issue in Applied Optics and Optics Continuum: Optical Science and Photonics in Africa (OSPA)
Zouheir Sekkat, Optics & Photonics Center, MAScIR-UM6P, Ben Guerir, and University Mohamed 5, Morocco (Lead Editor) Andrew Forbes, University Witwatersrand, South Africa Patience Mthunzi-Kufa, CSIR, South Africa Balla Diop Ngom, University Cheikh Anta Diop, Senegal
The flexibility of living tissue inspires efforts to build robots that are soft, adaptive, and capable of complex movements. Creating such machines is technically demanding, especially when they must operate without physical tethers. Soft robots need materials that deform easily, actuators that respond quickly, and control methods that are both precise and lightweight. Most existing approaches fail to deliver on all three. Magnetic systems require bulky hardware. Light and heat actuation offer wireless control, but struggle with speed and complexity. Electric fields offer a promising alternative—but only if the materials can translate field stimuli into fast, large-scale movement without relying on wires or embedded circuitry.
Traditional electrically responsive gels deform slowly, limited by the movement of ions. Other systems, such as dielectric elastomer actuators, produce stronger and faster responses but rely on internal electrodes or onboard electronics that compromise their softness and range of motion. To make electric-field actuation practical for untethered soft robots, materials must respond quickly, deform extensively, and be controlled entirely from the outside. Advances in soft polymers and conductive nanomaterials have opened the door to this possibility.
A study published in Advanced Materials (“Electric Field Driven Soft Morphing Matter”) reports a material system that meets these criteria. Developed by researchers at the University of Bristol and Imperial College London, the material—called electro-morphing gel, or e-MG—combines a soft elastomer, a dielectric liquid, and paracrystalline carbon nanoparticles. When exposed to externally applied electric fields, e-MG exhibits fast, large, and reversible shape changes. These include stretching, twisting, bending, and locomotion. All movements are controlled wirelessly through low-cost external electrodes.
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Demonstration of the deformability of e-MG robots. a) Illustration of the e-MG material structure and its principle of actuation under an electric field. b) Conceptual diagram showcasing the potential of e-MG robots in space applications. c) An e-MG gymnast swinging along a ceiling. d) An e-MG snail jumping over a gap. e) An e-MG robot delivering cargo through a channel. Demonstrations in (c–e) were performed in a dielectric liquid environment. Scale bars are 5 mm. Courtesy: Authors and Advanced Materials [downloaded from https://advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adma.202419077]
Berger describes the new material, electro-morphing gel (e-MG), in more detail,
At the heart of e-MG’s performance is its material composition. The elastomer provides structural flexibility, while the dielectric liquid softens the matrix and adjusts its electrical properties. The carbon particles, just tens of nanometers wide, introduce mobile charges. When the concentration of carbon exceeds a critical level—between 0.1 and 0.5 percent by weight—these particles form continuous paths for charge transport. The result is a percolated, electrically responsive gel that deforms rapidly in response to non-uniform electric fields.
The material responds to two physical mechanisms: electrostatic and dielectrophoretic forces. Electrostatic force acts on charges within the gel, pushing it in the direction of the field. Dielectrophoretic force acts on polarized material in a gradient field, pulling it toward stronger regions. When both forces align, the effect is amplified. By varying the carbon content, the researchers could tune which mechanism dominated. Low-carbon samples relied mainly on dielectrophoresis and showed slower actuation. Higher-carbon samples displayed rapid deformation driven by both forces. A carbon loading of 0.5 percent offered the best balance of speed, strength, and fabrication reliability.
The researchers demonstrated a range of complex behaviors enabled by this material. Robots built from e-MG could stretch by nearly three times their length, rotate in place, bend around corners, and spread out across surfaces. In one test, a snail-like robot jumped over a gap using a rapid sequence of stretch and release. In another, a humanoid-shaped robot swung along a ceiling by gripping and releasing electrodes. Because e-MG is soft, the robots can deform to anchor themselves against walls or climb vertical surfaces using only field stimuli.
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To ensure practical utility, the researchers tested the material’s durability and environmental stability. After 10,000 actuation cycles, e-MG continued to perform reliably. Tests in both air and dielectric liquid confirmed consistent behavior across media. The system also remained functional in low-pressure environments designed to mimic space conditions. The use of mineral oil in some tests mimicked reduced gravity and surface friction, showing potential for extraterrestrial applications. The individual components of the material—silicone elastomer, silicone oil, and carbon nanoparticles—are all compatible with known aerospace standards.
The researchers also explored scalability. Miniature versions of the robot, over 4,000 times smaller in volume than their largest counterparts, still displayed the same range of actuation behaviors. This suggests that the material and actuation principles can be applied across different size scales. Potential uses could include navigating narrow spaces, manipulating fragile components, or performing soft contact tasks in confined environments.
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By combining a soft, responsive material with remote electrical control, the e-MG system overcomes key limitations of previous wireless soft robotics. It removes the need for internal circuitry, expands the range of deformation patterns, and enables precise actuation using lightweight external components. Its demonstrated ability to morph, grip, and move through contactless stimulation provides a flexible foundation for new robotic platforms. These could be used in biomedical procedures, industrial inspection, or space exploration—where low weight, high adaptability, and remote control are essential.
Berger’s June 19, 2025 Nanowerk spotlight article has more detail and an embedded video of the soft morphing robots, “This video showcases the versatility of electro-morphing gel (e-MG) robots without internal wiring and controlled by external electric fields. A jelly-like humanoid swings across a ceiling using agile limb movements. A snail-inspired robot jumps across a gap by stretching and contracting its soft body. Another robot navigates a narrow channel, anchoring itself to walls to push a cargo ball forward. These demonstrations highlight the adaptability and wireless control of e-MG systems in diverse tasks.“
Here’s a link to and a citation for the paper,
Electric Field Driven Soft Morphing Matter by Ciqun Xu, Charl F. J. Faul, Majid Taghavi, Jonathan Rossiter. Advanced Materials DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202419077 First published: 12 June 2025
In an elegant fusion of art and science, researchers at Rice University have achieved a major milestone in nanomaterials engineering by uncovering how boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) — touted for their strength, thermal stability and insulating properties — can be coaxed into forming ordered liquid crystalline phases in water. Their work, published in Langmuir, the premier American Chemical Society journal in colloid and surface chemistry, was so visually striking it graced the journal’s cover.
That vibrant image, however, represents more than just the beauty of science at the nanoscale. It captures the essence of a new, scalable method to align BNNTs in aqueous solutions using a common bile-salt surfactant — sodium deoxycholate (SDC) — opening the door to next-generation materials for aerospace, electronics and beyond.
“This work is very interesting from the fundamental point of view because it shows that BNNTs can be used as model systems to study novel nanorod liquid crystals,” said Matteo Pasquali, the A.J. Hartsook Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, professor of chemistry, materials science and nanoengineering and corresponding author on the study. “The main advantage is that BNNTs are relatively transparent and easily studied via visible light unlike carbon nanotubes, which form dark liquid crystals that are hard to examine via light microscopy.”
For first author Joe Khoury, the study was more than routine science. Trained as an architect in Syria, he transitioned to chemical engineering after moving to the U.S., but his background in visual design may have helped him see something others might have missed. During a routine purification step, he noticed that as water was filtered from the dispersion, the leftover material became thick and glowed under polarized light — a hallmark of liquid crystal formation. Inspired by this observation, the team hypothesized that increasing the SDC concentration would drive BNNTs to self-assemble into ordered nematic phases.
To test their hypothesis, the researchers conducted a meticulous series of experiments, preparing BNNT-SDC dispersions at varying concentrations. They used polarized light microscopy to observe the transition from disordered states to partially ordered and then fully ordered liquid crystalline phases. Cryogenic electron microscopy provided high-resolution confirmation of BNNT alignment.
Crucially, they produced the first comprehensive phase diagram for BNNTs in surfactant solutions — a predictive map that allows scientists to anticipate how BNNTs will behave at different concentration ratios.
“No one had done this before,” Khoury said. “Previous studies either worked at low BNNT concentrations or used too little surfactant. We showed that if you increase both in the right proportion, you can trigger liquid crystalline ordering without using harsh chemicals or complicated procedures.”
In addition to mapping phase behavior, the team followed a simple, reproducible method to turn these dispersions into thin, well-aligned BNNT films. Using a specialized blade to shear the material onto a glass slide, they fabricated transparent, robust films ideal for thermal management and structural reinforcement applications (think lighter, stronger and more heat-tolerant components in tech devices or aircraft). Using X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy, the team confirmed the alignment at the nanoscale level.
“We demonstrated that nematic alignment in solution can be preserved and translated into solid films,” Khoury said. “That makes this a highly scalable platform for next-gen materials.”
The study lays the groundwork for new research into lyotropic liquid crystals formed from nanorods. Its simplicity — no strong acids, no harsh conditions — makes it accessible to labs worldwide. And its implications stretch from theoretical physics to commercial materials engineering.
“This is just the beginning,” Pasquali said. “With this road map, we can now explore how to fine-tune BNNT alignment for specific applications. It’s not just about making films; it’s about understanding a whole new class of functional nanomaterials.”
Pasquali added that the beauty of the images was mesmerizing.
“When Joe sent me candidate images for the cover, I felt like I was looking at paintings by Dali or Van Gogh,” Pasquali said. “The cover image could be the tower of Barad-dur from ‘The Lord of the Rings’ painted by a surrealist artist.”
Khoury added that this research would not have been possible without the guidance and mentorship from his team and co-authors, including Pasquali; Angel Martí, professor and chair of chemistry and professor of bioengineering and materials science and nanoengineering at Rice; Cheol Park of NASA Langley Research Center; Lyndsey Scammell from BNNT LLC; and Yeshayahu Talmon at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, among others.
This research was supported by the Welch Foundation, BNNT LLC, the Technion Russell Berrie Nanotechnology Institute and Rice’s Electron Microscopy Center and its Shared Equipment Authority.
Caption: Matteo Pasquali, the A.J. Hartsook Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, professor of chemistry, materials science and nanoengineering, and first author Joe Khoury. Credit: Rice University.
