Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain
the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in
Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles
and JavaScript.
X-ray computed tomography is a widely used technique for non-invasively visualizing the interior of the human body. A. Ben Yahuda and colleagues report a technique for incorporating scattered radiation data in Computed Tomography scans to improve image resolution and minimize radiation exposure for patients.
Stanley Cheung and co-authors introduce co-integrated III-V/Si memristors with fundamental photonic building blocks used in both communication and computing applications. This allows a path towards realizing low-loss, non-volatile optical elements with near-zero static power consumption.
Guillaume Dion and co-authors present the gait pattern recognition micro-electromechanical sensor. The effective coupling between sensing and computing capabilities allows in-sensor processing for robust, secure and low-power data analysis.
Thieben et al report a 3D human-scale magnetic particle imaging scanner, which allows for real-time 3D, multi-contrast imaging with compelling sensitivity and spatial resolution. The use of a medical tracer with appropriate dosages facilitates potential clinical usage.
Jiashuo Shi and colleagues build an integrated camera capable of tracking objects of interest. They use optical computing to arrange molecules in the liquid crystal mask for enhanced distinction between the object and background.
Real-time, low-cost, and wireless mechanical vibration monitoring is necessary for industrial, environmental, and biomedical applications. Here, Dajun Zhang and colleagues report a passive,ss metamaterial-based device which substantially improves the sensitivity of wireless vibration measurement methods when attached to vibrating surfaces.
Ce Zhang and colleagues report a novel system based on a software-defined radio to measure and control the vibrations of an exotic nanomechanical graphene resonator. This system will be helpful for the nanomechanical measurements with small signals and modulations.
Yi-Te Huang and colleagues demonstrate a microactuator driven by a spin-current volume effect. Alternating current and external magnetic field generates mechanical resonances in the amorphous magnetic film TbFeCo layered with non-magnetic metal.
Ran Xiao, Jiaheng Li and colleagues report the fabrication of architected microlattice nasopharyngeal swabs, which can effectively release the collected load without the need for dilution. The method was demonstrated able to improve the accuracy of Covid19 rapid tests.
Modelling waste biorefining processes can be difficult due to variability of feedstocks, making process optimization challenging. To address these uncertainties, Ji Gao and colleagues introduced a reinforcement learning-based framework, using a model anaerobic digestion process to demonstrate their control methods.
Adolfo Perrusquia and colleagues propose a machine learning-based framework to unveil the hidden intentions of drones, without relying on explicit behavioral features. This framework can distinguish drone’s malicious intentions from naïve intentions, enhancing our ability to effectively identify potential threats posed by drones.
Chung, Quirk and colleagues present a lightweight active back exosuit to assist workers when lifting. Testing in a simulated one-hour order picking task demonstrates the device has practical usability and reduces back muscle effort by 18%.
Fasseaux and co-authors present an enhanced performance of the tilted fiber Bragg grating-based biosensor. Using regression-based machine learning, the changes in the refractive index via changes in the spectral shift can be monitored in real-time.
Sholl and Mohseni design and synthesise soft actuators with multiple active degrees of freedom by introducing sliding polymer filaments (tendons) driven by an external servomotor within inflatable, fiber-reinforced elastomer membranes. These structures mimic the broad motility of a natural hydrostatic skeleton, exploiting the full extensibility of the elastomer matrix.
Yuki Higuchi and colleagues report a method to directly observe the distribution of water and ice in large polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs). This information is critical for understanding the cold start performance of these cells. Their findings could guide the design of more effective coldstart protocols for PEFCs.
Yanmin Zhu and colleagues design an optical spectroscopic holography system to combine the polarization, holographic and texture features to distinguish material molecular structures and was demonstrated to identify microplastics in real-time.
Watanabe and colleagues investigate the effects of different lubricants on the friction coefficient during colonoscopy. They also develop a corresponding model to measure the dynamic friction coefficient and determine the optimal viscosity for minimizing colonoscopy invasiveness, enhancing patient comfort, and improving surgical efficiency.
Salman, Garzón Ramos and Birattari report a strategy to automatically design stigmergy-based collective behaviours for robot swarms. This approach is demonstrated through simulations and real-robot experiments, encompassing a diverse range of four distinct tasks.
With the increasing use of Li-ion batteries, Li extraction from brine and seawater, as well as recovery from used Li-ion batteries have become a necessary step for achieving sustainability. Kazuya Sasaki and colleagues report a three-electrode dual-power-supply electrochemical pumping system for recovering high-purity Li from ionic solutions with much higher energy efficiency than the conventional approaches.