Engineering articles within Nature Communications

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  • Review Article
    | Open Access

    Untethered soft robots offer numerous advantages in terms of mobility, versatility, and autonomy, making them increasingly valuable for a wide range of applications. Jung et al. review the new types of untethered soft actuators that represent breakthroughs and discuss the future perspective of soft actuators.

    • Yeongju Jung
    • , Kangkyu Kwon
    •  & Seung Hwan Ko

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Conventional lighting requires an AC-DC converter for LEDs. Here, the authors report a tandem structure by connecting two QLEDs with opposite polarity in parallel, enabling AC driven operation. A household AC electricity plug-and-play QLEDs panel with tuneable colour and brightness is achieved.

    • Jiming Wang
    • , Cuixia Yuan
    •  & Shuming Chen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Pulse tube refrigerators are a critical enabling technology for many disciplines that require low temperatures, including quantum computing. Here, the authors show that dynamically optimizing the acoustic parameters of the refrigerator can improve conventional cooldown speeds up to 3.5 times.

    • Ryan Snodgrass
    • , Vincent Kotsubo
    •  & Joel Ullom

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The intelligent responses of Venus flytrap to various stimuli provide valuable insights into electronic design. Here, the authors report a liquid metal-based logic module with memory and counting properties to intelligently respond like the flytrap.

    • Yuanyuan Yang
    •  & Yajing Shen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The mechanical properties of heterogeneous cell populations in colorectal tumors and the relevance to cancer metastasis remain not fully understood. Here, the authors suggest that the variations in malignant phenotypes between LGR5-positive cancer stem cells and LGR5-negative cells could be due to their distinct mechanical phenotypes observed in vitro, determined by the membrane to cortex attachment proteins Ezrin/Radixin/Moesin.

    • Sefora Conti
    • , Valeria Venturini
    •  & Xavier Trepat

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Oscillating neural networks promise ultralow power consumption and rapid computation for tackling complex optimization problems. Here, the authors demonstrate VO2 oscillators to solve NP-complete problems with projected power consumption of 13 µW/oscillator.

    • Olivier Maher
    • , Manuel Jiménez
    •  & Siegfried Karg

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Concerns over the immunogenicity of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) are growing, and the implications for tissue engineering are unknown. Here the authors evaluate the impact of anti-PEG antibodies and PEG immunogenicity on the efficacy of a PEG hydrogel-based tissue engineering therapy.

    • Alisa H. Isaac
    • , Sarea Y. Recalde Phillips
    •  & Daniel L. Alge

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Inducible gene expression systems can be used to control the expression of a gene of interest by means of small molecules. Here the authors present CASwitch, a synthetic gene circuit platform enhancing inducible gene expression systems by reducing leakiness and boosting fold induction, for real world applications like gene therapy vector production and biosensors.

    • Giuliano De Carluccio
    • , Virginia Fusco
    •  & Diego di Bernardo

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Here the authors integrate optical and acoustic manipulation techniques to generate localized Lamb fields that emulate arbitrary laser patterns and demonstrate programmable nanoparticle patterning over a centimeter-scale area.

    • Ruoqin Zhang
    • , Xichuan Zhao
    •  & Feng Li

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Proton exchange membrane electrolyzers hold promise for ethylamine synthesis from acetonitrile, yet local acidity fosters proton reduction. Here, authors systematically screen metal catalysts, verifying their effectiveness in such electrolyzers.

    • Chongyang Tang
    • , Cong Wei
    •  & Xiangfeng Duan

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Integrating security, computing and memory capabilities in ion-migration-driven memristors is challenging. Here, Woo et al. experimentally demonstrates a single system that performs cryptographic key generation, universal Boolean logic operations, and encryption/decryption.

    • Kyung Seok Woo
    • , Janguk Han
    •  & Cheol Seong Hwang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Selective nanofiltration membranes with accurate molecular sieving offer a solution to recover rare metals and other valuable elements from brines but this demands the development of membranes with precise sub-nanometer pores surpassing those available today. Here, the authors report a scalable approach for membrane fabrication in which functionalized macrocycles are seamlessly oriented via supramolecular interactions during the interfacial polycondensation on a polyacrylonitrile support layer.

    • Shanshan Hong
    • , Maria Di Vincenzo
    •  & Suzana P. Nunes

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The researchers showcase a photonic-electronic FMCW LiDAR source composed of a micro-electronic based high-voltage arbitrary waveform generator, a photonic circuit-based tunable Vernier laser with piezoelectric actuators, and an erbium-doped waveguide amplifier.

    • Anton Lukashchuk
    • , Halil Kerim Yildirim
    •  & Tobias J. Kippenberg

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Achieving facile grain microstructure control in metal additive manufacturing is essential for its advancement. Here, the authors present a powder-size driven melt pool engineering approach to control the grain morphology demonstrated by laser directed energy deposition and electron beam powder-bed fusion processes.

    • Shubham Chandra
    • , Chengcheng Wang
    •  & Xipeng Tan

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Accurate perception of flight parameters is critical for flight control of micro air vehicles. Here, authors present a flexible calorimetric flow sensor with vanadium oxide thermistor arrays for flight parameters estimation, such as angle of attack and sideslip, flight velocity, and wing vibration.

    • Zheng Gong
    • , Weicheng Di
    •  & Huawei Chen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Catalyst activation commonly occurs during reactions. This study demonstrates that the surface’s active structure in nitride catalysts during the reverse water gas-shift reaction varies with the partial pressure of reaction products, resulting in enhanced catalytic activity through positive feedback between catalytic activity and the evolution of MoNx’s active structure.

    • Hui Xin
    • , Rongtan Li
    •  & Xinhe Bao

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The ideal metal selection and atomic-level arrangement for catalysts in CO2 hydrogenation are still uncertain. Here, copper is identified as the most effective promoter for enhancing ZnZrOx catalysts when precisely structured into CuZn ensembles, offering new insights for designing superior catalysts for CO2-based methanol synthesis.

    • Thaylan Pinheiro Araújo
    • , Georgios Giannakakis
    •  & Javier Pérez-Ramírez

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Detection of radiation is important for environmental health and safety. Here the authors demonstrate a method for radiation detection and mapping in 2D using minimum number of detectors and inter-pixel padding to increase the contrast between pixels.

    • Ryotaro Okabe
    • , Shangjie Xue
    •  & Mingda Li

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Piezocapacitive pressure sensors are typically limited by the slow response-relaxation speed for detecting dynamic stimuli. Here, Zhang et al. utilize the electrode-dielectric interface and bonded micro-structured interface for energy dissipation and reduce the response and relaxation time to 0.04 ms.

    • Yuan Zhang
    • , Xiaomeng Zhou
    •  & Chuan Fei Guo

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Achieving a wide angular response in single layer acoustic metalenses is challenging. By leveraging perfect acoustic symmetry conversion, the authors realize an aberration free metalens with a wide field-of-hearing, up to 140 degrees.

    • Dongwoo Lee
    • , Beomseok Oh
    •  & Junsuk Rho

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The transformation of CO2 with renewable hydrogen into high-value products presents a sustainable route for net-zero chemical manufacture. Here the authors introduce a LaFeO3 perovskite-mediated tandem conversion of CO2, achieving remarkable performance by separating the CO2 hydrogenation and C-C coupling domains in the catalyst system.

    • Guo Tian
    • , Zhengwen Li
    •  & Fei Wei

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Current desalination technologies are energy intensive and suffer from membrane degradation and fouling. Here, authors propose and explore the potential of thermodiffusion as a means of membrane-free, single-phase thermal desalination. A pathway towards a feasible thermodiffusive desalination is provided.

    • Shuqi Xu
    • , Alice J. Hutchinson
    •  & Juan F. Torres

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Electrical stimulation of hollow, 3D kidney tissues causes these tissues to inflate and change shape. The authors call this process electro-inflation and connect it to electricity driving ions into the center of the tissues, causing water to follow by osmosis.

    • Gawoon Shim
    • , Isaac B. Breinyn
    •  & Daniel J. Cohen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Histopathology can be limited by the time-consuming and labour-intensive preparation of slides from resected tissue. Here, the authors report DeepDOF-SE, a deep-learning-enabled microscope to rapidly scan intact tissue at cellular resolution without the need for physical sectioning.

    • Lingbo Jin
    • , Yubo Tang
    •  & Ashok Veeraraghavan

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Ultrasound localisation microscopy enables deep tissue microvascular imaging. Here, authors introduce LOCA-ULM, a deep learning pipeline enhancing localisation accuracy in high microbubble concentrations. LOCA-ULM reveals dense cerebrovascular networks and enhances the sensitivity of functional ULM.

    • YiRang Shin
    • , Matthew R. Lowerison
    •  & Pengfei Song

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Many mechanical computation platforms developed till date lack a rational design strategy and have limited computational functions, such as stand-alone single logic gates, or deformation/transition behaviors. Byun at al. have reported a systematic design principle for integrated mechanical computing that enables the electronics-free design of autonomous and intelligent soft machines, which are seamlessly integrated.

    • Junghwan Byun
    • , Aniket Pal
    •  & Metin Sitti

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Direct ink writing of complex 3D gradient structures can be challenging due to inherent method limitations. Here, the authors report continuous diameter-adjustable filament by varying printing speed and height and enable extrusion 3D printers to produce complex gradient porous matters.

    • Huawei Qu
    • , Chongjian Gao
    •  & Changshun Ruan

  • Article
    | Open Access

    In contrast to the commonly studied optical frequency combs, here, the authors demonstrate a radio frequency system able to wirelessly and passively generate frequency combs as a battery-free solution for far-field ranging of unmanned vehicles in GPS-denied settings.

    • Hussein M. E. Hussein
    • , Seunghwi Kim
    •  & Cristian Cassella

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Processing spatiotemporal information calls for the construction of hardware systems with computing capability comparable to biological neural networks. Inspired by human cochlea, Milozzi et al. develop neuromorphic circuits for memristive tonotopic mapping via volatile resistive switching memory devices.

    • Alessandro Milozzi
    • , Saverio Ricci
    •  & Daniele Ielmini

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The use of membranes under harsh conditions, particularly involving the separation of complex organic solvents, remains challenging. Here the authors demonstrate an ultrathin organosiloxane polymer membrane using initiated chemical vapor deposition to effectively separate solutes within the molecular weight range of 150–300 g mol−1.

    • Jihoon Choi
    • , Keonwoo Choi
    •  & Dong-Yeun Koh

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Vertical-axis wind turbines offer untapped opportunities for energy generation but suffer from dynamic stall in strong winds. Here, authors implement individual blade pitch control to benefit from stall vortices instead of suppressing them, tripling the power coefficient and reducing load transients by 70%.

    • Sébastien Le Fouest
    •  & Karen Mulleners

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Smartphone cameras have been widely used for analysis purposes, but the use of magnetometers in smartphones is limited in this regard. In this study, the authors present a smartphone analyte sensor platform that utilizes the built in magnetometer to directly translate signals through analyte-responsive magnetic-hydrogel composites.

    • Mark Ferris
    •  & Gary Zabow

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