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Scalable ion concentration polarization dialyzer for peritoneal dialysate regeneration

Year 2025 portable dialysis machine.

Where (C: molar concentration, R: ideal gas constant, T: absolute temperature).

While ED uses both cation and anion exchange membranes to remove charged components, it cannot purify neutral species because they are not affected by the electric field (Fig. 1 A). Therefore, its application as a dialyzer is limited by its inability to simultaneously remove neutral urea and positively charged creatinine. Despite their merits, none of these techniques can simultaneously purify a wide size-range of target species, spanning from salt ions to biomolecular contaminants, in a single-step process. In contrast, one of the nanoelectrokinetic phenomenon, the ion concentration polarization (ICP) based purification technology [28,29,30,31,32], as reported recently, aligns with these criteria, owing to its distinctive electrical filtration capabilities and scalability. Briefly, the perm-selectivity of nanoporous membranes initiates an electrolyte concentration polarization on both sides of the membrane. In the case of cation-selective membranes, an ion depletion zone forms on the anodic side of the membrane [33, 34]. Charged species reroute their trajectories along the concentration gradients near this ion depletion zone, serving as a pivotal site for the purification of a broad range of contaminants.

In this study, for portable PD, we firstly proposed a scalable ICP dialysate regeneration device. ICP removes cationic components through the cation exchange membrane, anionic components by electrostatic repulsion and neutral species through an electrochemical reaction at the electrode (Fig. 1B). When urea, a neutrally charged body toxin, begins to undergo direct oxidation at the electrode inlet, the concentration of urea around the electrode decreases. The urea concentration profile exhibits a decrease closer to the electrode, and as urea diffuses towards the electrode vicinity, a chain reaction of direct oxidation occurs. As a result, a purified dialysate could be continuously obtained by extracting a stream from the ion depletion zone. Micro-nanofluidic dialysate regeneration platform was upscaled in two-and three-dimensional directions using a commercial 3D printer as shown in Fig. 1C.

Neuroprotective effects of Cratoxylum formosum (L.) leaf extract on β-amyloid-induced injury in human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells

Palachai, N., Buranrat, B., Pariwatthanakun, C. et al. Neuroprotective effects of Cratoxylum formosu m (L.) leaf extract on β-amyloid-induced injury in human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells. Sci Rep 15, 44,730 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-28739-3

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Metamaterial Performs Computations in a New Way

A research team has developed a triangular mechanical network that can squeeze and wiggle in a multitude of preprogrammed ways [1]. The metamaterial design—realized in experiments with various materials, including Legos—may have applications from shock absorption to protein modeling. But the researchers also demonstrated that their structures can solve problems in matrix algebra. Performing computations in materials without converting information to electrical signals could be useful when durability and energy efficiency are more important than computing power, for example, in components of some soft robots.

Recent work showed that a mechanical system can perform similar computations [2]. However, this previous demonstration was limited in the number of inputs and outputs that it could accommodate, says Yair Shokef of Tel Aviv University in Israel. It also had rather large components that made it difficult to adapt to different applications.

Shokef and his colleagues, who produced the latest demonstration, built their 2D networks from equilateral triangles. Each triangle consisted of rigid beams with hinge points at each vertex and at the center of each side, for a total of three so-called corner nodes and three edge nodes per triangle. Importantly, each triangle had one or two “bonds”—beams that connected edge nodes and that determined the ways in which the triangle could be distorted or flexed.

Off-grid filtration technology can remove over 99% of nanoplastics smaller than 50 nm

Professor Jeong-Min Baik’s research group of the SKKU School of Advanced Materials Science and Engineering has developed a reusable electrokinetic filtration platform capable of filtering more than 99% of ultrafine nanoplastic particles smaller than 50 nm even under commercial-level high-flow conditions.

Plastic pollution, which has surged in recent years through industrialization and the pandemic era, poses a direct threat to human health. In particular, nanoplastics smaller than 100 nm—thousands of times thinner than a human hair—can readily pass through biological membranes in the body and trigger serious diseases such as immune dysregulation and carcinogenicity.

However, conventional water purification systems have struggled to effectively remove nanoplastics of such small sizes, highlighting technological limitations; studies have even reported the presence of hundreds of thousands of particles in a single bottle of bottled water.

Astrophysicists discover largest sulfur-containing molecular compound in space

Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE), in collaboration with astrophysicists from the Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), CSIC-INTA, have identified the largest sulfur-bearing molecule ever found in space: 2,5-cyclohexadiene-1-thione (C₆H₆S). They made this breakthrough by combining laboratory experiments with astronomical observations. The molecule resides in the molecular cloud G+0.693–0.027, about 27,000 light-years from Earth near the center of the Milky Way.

With a stable six-membered ring and a total of 13 atoms, it far exceeds the size of all previously detected sulfur-containing compounds in space. The study is published in Nature Astronomy.

Ultra-thin wireless retinal implant offers hope for safely restoring vision signals

An international research team led by Prof. Dr. Sedat Nizamoğlu from the Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering at Koç University has developed a next-generation, safe, and wireless stimulation technology for retinal degenerative diseases that cause vision loss.

The study is published in Science Advances.

Recent sensory experiences adversely impact perceptual decisions, study finds

People’s perceptions and their interpretation of the world are known to often be influenced by their expectations and past experiences. One well-established example of this is serial dependence, a bias that prompts humans to make judgments about things that they are perceiving based on other stimuli that they observed shortly beforehand.

Researchers at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, University of Lausanne, CHUV, The Sense Innovation and Research Center, and University of Bergen analyzed the findings of several past studies to better understand how this effect influences decision-making, particularly in situations where humans need to interpret what they are perceiving.

Their findings, published in Nature Human Behavior, suggest that serial dependence typically reduces the accuracy of people’s perceptions, which contradicts previous theories and hypotheses.

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