Researchers at ETH Zurich have developed artificial muscles that contain microbubbles and can be controlled with ultrasound. In the future, these muscles could be deployed in technical and medical settings as gripper arms, tissue patches, targeted drug delivery, or robots.
It might look like a simple material experiment at first glance, as a brief ultrasound stimulation induces a thin strip of silicone to start bending and arching. But that’s just the beginning. A team led by Daniel Ahmed, Professor of Acoustic Robotics for Life Sciences and Healthcare, has developed a new class of artificial muscles: flexible membranes that respond to ultrasound with the help of thousands of microbubbles.
A research team led by Prof. Hou Xingliang from the South China Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has used genome-wide association studies (GWAS) to identify a rare allele that controls seed protein content and was lost during soybean domestication.
Their findings were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Oct. 30.
Domesticating wild plants into crops represents a breakthrough in human history, yet key beneficial traits are often lost in the process. Soybeans are a good example. Modern soybean cultivars have lower seed protein content (30%–40%) than their wild ancestors, wild soybeans (Glycine soja), which typically contain 50%–60% protein. Since soybeans (Glycine max [L.] Merr.) are the primary source of plant-based protein for both livestock feed and human nutrition, increasing seed protein content is a critical goal for agricultural research.
Interval running condenses the powerful effects of regular running into shorter, high-intensity bursts. Research shows it can improve cardiovascular health, regulate blood sugar, and reduce body fat more effectively than longer steady runs. Just a few short sprints per session can deliver major fitness gains.
Running offers a wide range of advantages for both body and mind. It can protect against disease, improve mood, and even slow down the body’s natural aging process.
Yet about 31% of adults still don’t get enough physical activity, including running. The most common reason people give is simple — they don’t have enough time.
Age Reversal in Primates has been achieved. We have it now.
Anti-aging gene therapy, stem cell rejuvenation, and FOXO3 longevity research take center stage in this episode of Longevity Science News with Emmett Short. This groundbreaking study out of Beijing shows that gene-edited human stem cells—specifically FOXO3-enhanced senescence-resistant mesenchymal progenitor cells (SRCs)—can reverse biological aging in elderly monkeys, restoring youthful brain structure, bone density, immune strength, and even ovarian function. By upgrading the FOXO3 longevity gene, scientists created stem cells that resist cellular senescence, DNA damage, and oxidative stress, effectively making the monkeys younger from the inside out. MRI scans revealed increased cortical thickness and improved memory-related connectivity, while biological age clocks showed a 3–5 year reversal across 54% of tissues—equivalent to 9–15 years of human rejuvenation. Emmett explains how these anti-aging stem cells, epigenetic resets, and exosome-based rejuvenation pathways could revolutionize regenerative medicine, longevity biotech, and future human trials. He also explores the costs, ethics, and long-term implications of turning back time at the cellular level. If you’re passionate about biohacking, gene editing, lifespan extension, or the future of anti-aging science, this is the video for you.
MIT researchers created a needle-injectable, sand-sized magnetoelectric antenna that wirelessly powers deep-tissue implants using low-frequency magnetic fields. The tiny antenna delivers far greater power and safety than conventional antennas, enabling scalable, battery-free, minimally invasive bioelectronic implants.
Among begomovirus species, tomato leaf curl New Delhi virus (ToLCNDV) is significant and stands out as a mechanically transmissible bipartite begomovirus originating from the Old World. However, the mechanisms underlying the mechanical transmission of different ToLCNDV strains remain understudied, as their natural transmission occurs via insect vectors. In this study, we investigated the mechanical transmissibility of two ToLCNDVs, one from Italy and another from Pakistan, in host plants. Several cucurbit species were screened, and symptom differences between the two ToLCNDV clones were observed only in zucchini when subjected to rubbing inoculation. The Italian isolate (ToLCNDV-ES) induced typical disease symptoms such as leaf curling, yellow mosaic, and internode stunting, whereas a normal phenotype was observed in zucchini mechanically infected with ToLCNDV-In (Pakistani isolate).
In recent years, neuroengineers have devised a number of new modalities for interfacing with the nervous system. Among these are optical stimulation, vibrational stimulation, and optogenetics. A newer and perhaps more promising technology is sonogenetics.
Sonogenetics, the use of focused ultrasound to control cells that have been made ultrasound-responsive via gene delivery, is moving from compelling papers to a potential platform strategy. From a neurotech commercialization standpoint, the significance of sonogenetics is less about a single lab trick and more about the emerging convergence of three capabilities: precise genetic targeting, durable and safe delivery, and field-robust ultrasound systems that work the first time outside the origin lab.
One commercial firm that may be exploiting this technology is Merge Labs. The startup recently made a big splash with a $250 million investment from Open AI and Sam Altman. While the company has not yet released its website and the technical personnel behind the company have not been identified, it is rumored to be working with focused ultrasound implants and sonogenetics as gene therapy. If Merge and its peers can validate durable expression, predictable dose–response, and reliable outside-the-lab bring-up, a first wave of indications will likely sit at the intersection of neurology, psychiatry, and rehabilitation, with longer-term spillover into human-machine interaction.
Kampmann’s work, supported by the National Institutes of Science (NIH), maps cellular “decision points” that determine whether brain cells survive or die — laying the groundwork for treatments that intervene before irreversible brain damage occurs.
Using CRISPR-based gene targeting technology that his team helped develop and pioneer the use of in brain cells, Kampmann has identified genes and cellular processes that influence the buildup of amyloid plaque and tau in the brain, two primary contributors to dementia. Thanks to this technology, called CRISPR interference and CRISPR activation, select genes in the laboratory can be turned on or off to protect brain cells from decline.
“We can conduct large-scale experiments that target all the genes in the human genome — 20,000 of them,” said Kampmann, explaining his work after receiving the Byers Award earlier this year. “And that way, we can basically have a little knob on each gene to ask which of all of the genes play a role in a disease.”
