Comment

The future of our species and planet hinges on our scientific creativity to tackle future challenges. However, the trust of the public in scientific processes needs to be earned and kept, which will require inclusive, self-reflecting, honest and inspiring science communication.

Nd-Fe-B permanent magnets are essential for the transition to clean energy and mobility. Given the burgeoning demand for neodymium and other rare earths, this Comment discusses the role of recycling and the need for government intervention in securing a sustainable rare-earth supply.

Scientists worldwide struggle to identify suitable animal models to study SARS-CoV-2 infections. Interspecies-related differences, such as host specificity, divergent immune responses, or the unavailability of species-specific reagents hamper the research. Human-based models, such as micro-engineered multi-organs-on-chip, may hold the solution.

Understanding electrified interfaces is crucial to enabling a multitude of applications, including photo(electrocatalysis), supercapacitors, pseudocapacitors and batteries. However, reaching an atomistic understanding of electrified interfaces remains challenging and will require the combination and development of refined computations and experiments.

Near-field communication (NFC) emerged as a high-security, wireless, short-range, data exchange technology nearly two decades ago; its ability to simultaneously transfer power and data between devices offers exciting opportunities for the design of miniature, battery-less and disposable sensing systems in healthcare and food quality monitoring.

During fibrotic diseases, functional tissue parenchyma progressively transforms into stiff, disorganized and non-functional tissue causing organ failure. The underlying multitude of interconnected changes in the cellular microenvironment can be investigated using bioengineered fibrosis models.

The design of new functional polymers depends on the successful navigation of their structure-function landscapes. Advances in combinatorial polymer chemistry and machine learning provide exciting opportunities for the engineering of fit-for-purpose polymeric materials.

Cell-released biological nanoparticles, that is, extracellular vesicles (EVs), are emerging drug carriers with high complexity. EV-based drug delivery exploits intrinsic mechanisms for molecular transport in the body. Integrating EV biology and manufacturing with clinical insights from synthetic nanoparticles is likely to substantially advance the field of drug delivery.

Since its development over 20 years ago, aberration correction has revolutionized the way we study materials at the atomic scale. Here, I outline a set of technical developments for electron microscopes that, when implemented and combined, will enable us to better understand how matter behaves.

Nanoparticles enable wireless neural stimulation without the need for genetic manipulation. However, challenges remain for their potential application in the cure of human neurodegenerative diseases. A careful analysis of the different nanomaterials and energy sources that proved effective in animal models will direct their clinical translatability.

In February 2019, we co-founded LatinXinBME to build a diverse and welcoming virtual community of Latinx researchers in biomedical engineering (BME). We leverage digital tools and community mentoring approaches to support our members and to build safe spaces in academia, with the aim to diversify the academic workforce in STEM.

We must all ask ourselves critical questions about our role in the persistence of racism in academia, its effects on our colleagues and intentional actions to improve equity for all.

3D printing enables on-demand solutions for a wide spectrum of needs ranging from personal protection equipment to medical devices and isolation wards. This versatile technology is suited to address supply–demand imbalances caused by socio-economic trends and disruptions in supply chains.

The rapidly expanding biomaterials data are challenging to organize. Text mining systems are powerful tools that automatically extract and integrate information in large textual collections. As text mining leaps forward by leveraging deep-learning approaches, it is time to address the most pressing biomaterials information and data processing needs.

Batteries, as complex materials systems, pose unique challenges for the application of machine learning. Although a shift to data-driven, machine learning-based battery research has started, new initiatives in academia and industry are needed to fully exploit its potential.

In condensed matter systems, the atoms, electrons or spins can sometimes arrange themselves in ways that result in unexpected properties but that cannot be detected by conventional experimental probes. Several historical and contemporary examples of such hidden orders are known and more are awaiting discovery, perhaps in the form of more complex composite, entangled or dynamical hidden orders.

A global effort is ongoing in the scientific community and in the maker movement, which focuses on creating devices and tinkering with them, to reverse-engineer commercial medical equipment and get it to healthcare workers. For these ‘low-tech’ solutions to have a real impact, it is important for them to coalesce around approved designs.

The first online-only meeting in photonics, held on January 13th 2020, was a resounding success, with 1100 researchers participating remotely to discuss the latest advances in photonics. Here, the organizers share their tips and advice on how to organize an online conference.

Diversity initiatives typically focus on empowering scientists from minority backgrounds to navigate academia. Although such efforts can be valuable, the structural barriers faced by minority scientists must also be addressed, particularly in the distribution of research funding.

To maximize your scientific career, it is essential to establish research networks and build upon a multitude of mentoring relationships. At the heart of these networks, each scientist has the potential to benefit from the influence and satisfaction of being a mentor and a mentee.