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Category: innovation – Page 73

Untethered Micro/Nanorobots for Remote Sensing: Toward Intelligent Platform

Untethered micro/nanorobots that can wirelessly control their motion and deformation state have gained enormous interest in remote sensing applications due to their unique motion characteristics in various media and diverse functionalities. Researchers are developing micro/nanorobots as innovative tools to improve sensing performance and miniaturize sensing systems, enabling in situ detection of substances that traditional sensing methods struggle to achieve. Over the past decade of development, significant research progress has been made in designing sensing strategies based on micro/nanorobots, employing various coordinated control and sensing approaches. This review summarizes the latest developments on micro/nanorobots for remote sensing applications by utilizing the self-generated signals of the robots, robot behavior, microrobotic manipulation, and robot-environment interactions.

Scientists turn glass into a ‘transparent’ semiconductor with laser

The team was thrilled with this discovery and saw the potential for creating durable patterns on the glass surface that could produce electricity when illuminated. This is a significant breakthrough because the technique does not require any additional materials, and all that is needed is tellurite glass and a femtosecond laser to create an active photoconductive material.

“Tellurium being semiconducting, based on this finding we wondered if it would be possible to write durable patterns on the tellurite glass surface that could reliably induce electricity when exposed to light, and the answer is yes,” explains Yves Bellouard who runs EPFL’s Galatea Laboratory.

Plants communicating with each other captured on video for the first time

A team of Japanese researchers has made a groundbreaking discovery in the field of plant communication, capturing real-time footage of plants transmitting defense responses to their neighbors.

This significant achievement, led by molecular biologist Masatsugu Toyota from Saitama University, was published in the journal Nature Communications.

The study’s breakthrough lies in observing undamaged plants responding to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by other plants experiencing mechanical damage or insect attacks.

Rethinking Death: Exploring What Happens When We Die

The full recording of Parnia’s Lab’s premiere film, Rethinking Death: Exploring What Happens When We Die. In Rethinking Death, scientists, physicians, and survivors of cardiac arrest explore the liminal space between life and death, breaking down these stunning scientific breakthroughs to tell the remarkable, scientific story of what happens after we die.

Special thank you to Stellaris Productions, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, and of course, the researchers and survivors without whom this story could not be told:

Dr. Robert Montgomery.
Dr. Sam Parnia.
Dr. Lance Becker.
Dr. Tom Aufderheide.
Dr. Stephan Mayer.
Dr. Samuel Tisherman.
Alysson Muotri.
Dr. Lindsay Gurin.
Dr. Bruce Greyson.
Dr. Mary Neal.
Jeffery Olsen.
Rachel Finch.
Dr. Anthony Bossis.
Dr. Megan Craig.
Dr. Donald Hoffman.
Dr. Joseph Lowy