Volume 6 Issue 7, July 2021

Following the 2015 migration wave to Europe, numerous French academic institutions organized themselves to welcome refugee students and researchers. As witnessed in the past, initiatives coming from universities largely preceded national dispositions, which took place in a second phase and worked towards reinforcing them. These initiatives provide some examples demonstrating the commitment of academic communities as a whole to crucial societal issues.

An article in Nature Biomedical Engineering reports that softening the surface of silicone implants prevents the foreign body response and thus fibrotic encapsulation of the material.

An article in the Journal of the American Chemical Society reports the large-scale synthesis of an elongated carbon nanobelt with unusual host-guest behaviour.

Scientific visibility is key to an academic career and rooted in the traditional academic cycle of training, (informal) connections, support, publications, citations, recognition and funding — a cycle from which under-represented groups are often excluded. In this Viewpoint, five scientists discuss experiences and thoughts about disparities in scientific visibility and provide action points.

Polarons — quasiparticles arising from the interaction of electrons with lattice vibrations — strongly influence materials properties. This Review provides a map of the theoretical models and experimental techniques used to study polarons in materials, presenting paradigmatic examples of different types of polarons and polaron-driven phenomena.

High-temperature superconducting materials are finding their way into numerous energy applications. This Review discusses processing methods for the fabrication of REBCO (REBa₂Cu₃O_7−δ) coated conductors, investigating the relation between performance and fabrication method, reviewing existing and new routes to improved performance and outlining emerging and future applications.

Composites made from metal–organic frameworks and polymer fibres are gaining popularity in many applications because of their tailorable morphologies and properties. This Review summarizes various methods for fabricating these composites, explores structure–processing–activity relationships and discusses future research opportunities.

Osmotic energy conversion is a promising renewable energy source. This Review discusses nanofluidics-based osmotic energy conversion systems, investigating the principles of ion diffusion in nanofluidic systems, optimization of membrane architectures to increase energy conversion and possible integration with other technologies, such as water splitting.