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Phase-change actuation has been revived for the era of untethered, electrically driven soft robots. Our team at the University of Coimbra have developed a phase transition soft actuator designed to power electric soft robots that require high force and precision. Our innovation leverages the liquid-to-gas phase transition of water to generate mechanical motion in a way that is simple, scalable, and remarkably powerful.

Unlike traditional soft actuators, which often rely on bulky pneumatics, exotic materials, or high voltages, our design exploits a well-known process: boiling. Using a tiny embedded heater, our transforms water into steam, generating internal pressure that drives motion in soft, flexible structures. As a result, our actuator can operate at voltages as low as 24 V, deliver forces exceeding 50 N, and achieve pressurization rates of up to 100 kPa/s.

Our findings are published in Nature Communications.

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Researchers at Northwestern University and Israel’s Tel Aviv University have overcome a major barrier to achieving a low-cost solution for advanced robotic touch. The authors argue that the problem that has been lurking in the margins of many papers about touch sensors lies in the robotic skin itself.

In the study, inexpensive silicon rubber composites used to make skin were observed to host an insulating layer on the top and bottom surfaces, which prevented direct electrical contact between the sensing polymer and the monitoring surface electrodes, making accurate and repeatable measurements virtually impossible.

With the error eliminated, cheap robotic skins could allow robots to mimic human touch, allowing them to sense an object’s curves and edges, which is necessary to properly grasp it.

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Researchers headed by a team at the California Institute of Technology developed an ultrasound-guided 3D printing technique that could make it possible to fabricate medical implants in vivo and deliver tailored therapies to tissues deep inside the body—all without invasive surgery. The researchers say the imaging-guided deep tissue in vivo sound printing (DISP) platform utilizes low-temperature–sensitive liposomes (LTSLs) as carriers for cross-linking agents, enabling precise, controlled in situ fabrication of biomaterials within deep tissues.

Reporting on their development in Science “Imaging-guided deep tissue in vivo sound printing”, first author Elham Davoodi, PhD, and senior, corresponding author Wei Gao, PhD, described proof of concept studies demonstrating in vivo printing within the bladders and muscles of mice, and rabbits, respectively. Gas vesicle (GV)–based ultrasound imaging integrated into the printing platform enabled real-time monitoring of the printing process and precise positioning. In their paper, the authors concluded, “DISP’s ability to print conductive, drug-loaded, cell-laden, and bioadhesive biomaterials demonstrates its versatility for diverse biomedical applications.”

Three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting technologies offer significant promise to modern medicine by enabling the creation of customized implants, intricate medical devices, and engineered tissues, tailored to individual patients, the authors wrote. “However, the implantation of these constructs often requires invasive surgeries, limiting their utility for minimally invasive treatments.”

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What happens when intelligence escapes the bounds of flesh and bone? In this episode, we explore post-biological civilizations—entities that may trade biology for digital minds, machine bodies, or stranger forms still—and ask what becomes of identity, purpose, and humanity when the body is no longer required.

Watch my exclusive video Antimatter Propulsion: Harnessing the Power of Annihilation — https://nebula.tv/videos/isaacarthur–… Nebula using my link for 40% off an annual subscription: https://go.nebula.tv/isaacarthur Get a Lifetime Membership to Nebula for only $300: https://go.nebula.tv/lifetime?ref=isa… Use the link gift.nebula.tv/isaacarthur to give a year of Nebula to a friend for just $30. SFIA Discord Server: / discord Credits: Post-Biological Civilizations: Life Beyond Flesh and Bone Episode 498a; May 11, 2025 Written, Produced & Narrated by: Isaac Arthur Edited by: Ludwig Luska Select imagery/video supplied by Getty Images Music Courtesy of Epidemic Sound http://epidemicsound.com/creator Chris Zabriskie, “Unfoldment, Revealment” Phase Shift, “Forest Night” Lewis Gill, “The Phobos Diary” Stellardrone, “Red Giant” 0:00 Intro 1:24 The Physical Presence of Post-Biological Civilizations 3:38 Societal & Cultural Aspects of Post-Biological Life 5:08 The Scifi Path to Post-Biological Life 8:03 The Singularity and the Ultimate Transition 9:47 Many Paths to Post-Biological Life 17:50 The Fermi Paradox & Post-Biological Civilizations 27:39 Ethics & the Fate of Humanity 29:17 The Transition Process at a Civilizational Scale.
Get Nebula using my link for 40% off an annual subscription: https://go.nebula.tv/isaacarthur.
Get a Lifetime Membership to Nebula for only $300: https://go.nebula.tv/lifetime?ref=isa…
Use the link gift.nebula.tv/isaacarthur to give a year of Nebula to a friend for just $30.

SFIA Discord Server: / discord.
Credits:
Post-Biological Civilizations: Life Beyond Flesh and Bone.
Episode 498a; May 11, 2025
Written, Produced & Narrated by: Isaac Arthur.
Edited by: Ludwig Luska.
Select imagery/video supplied by Getty Images.
Music Courtesy of Epidemic Sound http://epidemicsound.com/creator.
Chris Zabriskie, \

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Modern ideas about reality sometimes sound like a wild story. The notion that everything around us might be bits and bytes is easy to brush aside, yet it continues to intrigue many curious minds.

This perspective has led some researchers to wonder if physical forces might be signals of an underlying information system.

According to physicist Melvin M. Vopson of the University of Portsmouth, certain features of gravity may hint at information contained in a universal computational code.

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