Volume 1 Issue 5, May 2023

In a multilinguistic science learning environment, science educators should rely on effective pedagogies to teach students with different mother languages and socio-cultural backgrounds. Institutes that invest in bias awareness training for students and instructors will help to create an inclusive learning environment. This can be achieved by opening science classrooms to social science researchers who can inform the development of a signature pedagogy of science.

Micro- and nanorobots hold great potential to overcome brain barriers for the treatment of brain diseases. They can be delivered to the brain by local injection, intranasal application, or systemic administration. Combining active propulsion with biological and chemical approaches or external physical stimuli can improve brain targeting.

An article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reports a synthetic designer matrix to investigate cell–matrix interactions.

An article in Science Advances reports a biohybrid neural interface device that integrates a cell layer on a microelectrode array, achieving high-resolution mapping of neuronal inputs and restoration of nerve function.

An article in Nature Machine Intelligence reports a deep learning-guided framework that can help pathologists to discover new prognostic tissue biomarkers from well-performing deep learning models.

Current methods for the genetic manipulation of plants have low throughput and are amenable to a limited range of species. This Review discusses advances in the development of nanotechnology tools and the understanding of structure–function relationships to overcome these issues.

Organoids recapitulate many aspects of native tissues and even display tissue and organ-level functionality, although with limited control over morphogenesis. This Review describes an emerging framework, termed middle-out tissue engineering, that facilitates spatiotemporal control of tissue-specific cell niches to enable deterministic organoid self-organization and build more advanced in vitro tissue models.

Electrochemical biosensors can be integrated into wearable, portable and implantable devices for health monitoring and disease diagnosis. This Review discusses the design and integration of different types of electrochemical biosensors for the detection of analytes related to health and disease, and outlines engineering challenges that need to be addressed to enable clinical translation of electrochemical biosensor-based point-of-care devices.

Bioreactors enable the cultivation of mammalian cells in a closely monitored and controlled microenvironment. This Review discusses bioreactor technologies and closed-loop set-ups for producing patient-specific engineered-tissue grafts, including skin, small-diameter arteries and musculoskeletal tissues, with a particular focus on commercialization and regulatory considerations.