Engineering articles within Nature Communications

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  • Article
    | Open Access

    Next generation smart lighting requires high colour rendering and wide colour controllability. Here, Jung et al. realise, via a systematic colour optimisation and a computational charge transport simulation, white quantum dot light-emitting diodes with high colour performance.

    • Chatura Samarakoon
    • , Hyung Woo Choi
    •  & Jong Min Kim

  • Article
    | Open Access

    High extraction capacity with precise selectivity to trace amounts of gold over a wide range of co-existing elements remains a challenge for effective e-waste recycling. Here, authors demonstrate the excellent performance of rGO for gold extraction from e-waste leachate, even at minute concentrations.

    • Fei Li
    • , Jiuyi Zhu
    •  & Hui-Ming Cheng

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Accessibility into the distal vascular systems to treat various diseases remains challenging using medical catheters. Here, Wang et al. demonstrate that a stent-shaped wireless magnetic soft robot enables adaptive locomotion and medical functions into these distal vascular regions.

    • Tianlu Wang
    • , Halim Ugurlu
    •  & Metin Sitti

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The study found that long-duration heatwaves are much more likely to follow power-damaging tropical cyclones in the future RCP8.5 climate, with the impact of longer-than-5-day tropical cyclone-blackout-heatwave compound hazard increasing by a factor of 23 over the 21st century.

    • Kairui Feng
    • , Min Ouyang
    •  & Ning Lin

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Though water evaporation-driven electricity generation is an attractive sustainable energy production strategy, existing electronic devices suffer from poor performance or is costly. Here, the authors report sustainable biofilms for efficient, low-cost evaporation-based electricity production

    • Xiaomeng Liu
    • , Toshiyuki Ueki
    •  & Jun Yao

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Designing biocompatible and flexible electronic devices for neuromrophic applications remains a challenge. Here, Kireev et al. propose graphene-based artificial synaptic transistors with low-energy switching, long-term potentiation, and metaplasticity for future bio-interfaced neural networks.

    • Dmitry Kireev
    • , Samuel Liu
    •  & Jean Anne C. Incorvia

  • Article
    | Open Access

    A highly conductive and transparent electrode is essential to achieving a high efficiency in indium tin oxide-free optoelectronic devices. Here, the authors strategically prepare sol-gel-grown zinc oxide films based on photoinduced doping effect and demonstrate enhanced performance of devices.

    • Zhi Chen
    • , Jie Wang
    •  & Zheng Tang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Proteolysis targeting chimeras (PROTACs) have emerged as promising cancer therapy agents but have suffered from systemic toxicity issues. Here, the authors report on the creation of polymeric PROTAC nanoparticles for tumour targeting delivery and demonstrate protein degradation in vivo, in combination with photodynamic therapy.

    • Jing Gao
    • , Bo Hou
    •  & Haijun Yu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Designing energy-efficient computing solution for the implementation of AI algorithms in edge devices remains a challenge. Yang et al. proposes a decentralized brain-inspired computing method enabling multiple edge devices to collaboratively train a global model without a fixed central coordinator.

    • Helin Yang
    • , Kwok-Yan Lam
    •  & H. Vincent Poor

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Three-dimensional (3D) microfibrillar network represents an important structural design for various natural tissues and synthetic aerogels but achieving high mechanical properties for synthetic 3D microfibrillar networks remains challenging. Here, the authors report an ultrastrong polymeric aerogels involving self-assembled 3D networks of aramid nanofiber composites with high nodal connectivity.

    • Huimin He
    • , Xi Wei
    •  & Lizhi Xu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Machines capable of magnetically controllable shape morphing and locomotion have diverse promising applications. Here, authors propose a scalable fabrication strategy that transforms 2D magnetic sheets into 3D soft magneto-active machines with customized geometries by incorporating origami folding.

    • Shengzhu Yi
    • , Liu Wang
    •  & Lelun Jiang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Modular robots with reconfigurable architectures show advantages in unpredicted environments. Here Yang et al. propose a heterogeneous assembly concept for cellular robot construction at millimeter scales, which can simultaneously reconfigure their morphologies and behaviours to conduct versatile tasks on demand.

    • Xiong Yang
    • , Rong Tan
    •  & Yajing Shen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Artificial muscle actuators enabled by responsive functional materials like shape memory alloys are promising candidates for compact e-wearable devices. Here, authors demonstrate augmented reality glasses and two-way communication haptic gloves capable of image depth control and immersive tactile response.

    • Dongjin Kim
    • , Baekgyeom Kim
    •  & Je-Sung Koh

  • Article
    | Open Access

    All-in-liquid printing promises applications from energy storage to drug delivery and tissue engineering. Here, authors present the in-situ generation of layered emulsion in a fraction of a second at the oil-water interface forming 3D tube-like structures in a liquid medium.

    • Parisa Bazazi
    • , Howard A. Stone
    •  & S. Hossein Hejazi

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Continuous spectral translation could allow expansion of the bandwidth available for communication without having to develop transceivers for the new bands. Here, the authors demonstrate this using AlGaAsOI nanowaveguides as spectral translators between the mature telecom C band and the 2-μm wavelength band.

    • Deming Kong
    • , Yong Liu
    •  & Hao Hu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The limited preservation duration of donor organs is a big problem. Here the authors report a method for the freezing of whole rat livers at temperatures between −10 °C to −15 °C for up to 5 days, based on freeze-tolerant wood frogs, and term this partial freezing.

    • Shannon N. Tessier
    • , Reinier J. de Vries
    •  & Mehmet Toner

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Information-based search strategies are relevant for the learning of interacting agents dynamics and usually need predefined data. The authors propose a method to collect data for learning a predictive sensor model, without requiring domain knowledge, human input, or previously existing data.

    • Ahalya Prabhakar
    •  & Todd Murphey

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Typical buildings are static structures, unable to adjust to dynamic temperature and daylight fluctuations. Here, authors present an adaptive alternative, using shape-tuneable pigment injections to control solar ingress and reduce estimated building energy use by 30%.

    • Raphael Kay
    • , Charlie Katrycz
    •  & Benjamin D. Hatton

  • Article
    | Open Access

    There has been much interest in using the probabilistic switching of magnetic tunnel junctions in unconventional computing, but to do so requires a detailed understanding of this switching. Here, Funatsu et al rigorously determine the switching exponents in superparamagnetic tunnel junctions.

    • Takuya Funatsu
    • , Shun Kanai
    •  & Hideo Ohno

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Spintronic terahertz (THz) emitters are a class of magnetic heterostructure where femtosecond laser excitations generate THz radiation emission. While they have great potential, electric field control of spintronic emitter remains a challenge. Here, by combining a spintronic emitter with a piezoelectric substrate, Agarwal et al. demonstrate electric field control of THz emission through induced piezostrain.

    • Piyush Agarwal
    • , Lisen Huang
    •  & Ranjan Singh

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Van der Waals materials exhibit unique thermomechanical properties, but interlayer deformations are usually challenging to measure. Here, the authors exploit the strain-dependent optical properties of monolayer WSe2 to quantitatively probe the interlayer shear thermal deformations and interlayer coupling in phosphorene and hexagonal boron nitride.

    • Le Zhang
    • , Han Wang
    •  & Xiaolong Chen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Despite the advantages of biohybrid systems for soft robotics, most systems have short lifetime, require complex fabrication, and only remain functional with careful maintenance. Here, the authors report biohybrid mechanoluminescence in soft elastomer-encapsulated bioluminescent dinoflagellates.

    • Chenghai Li
    • , Qiguang He
    •  & Shengqiang Cai

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The simultaneous achievement of high breakdown voltage and low resistance is a contradictory point because it would require high and low doping simultaneously. Here, Zhou et al. achieve a power figure-of-merit of 13.2 GW/cm2 through hole injection and conductivity modulation effect.

    • Jincheng Zhang
    • , Pengfei Dong
    •  & Yue Hao

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Most porous systems comprise structures characterized by dead-end and transmitting pores. Here, authors show that macroscopic transport through such porous medium is controlled by structure-induced laminar vortices inside each dead-end pore, and such cannot be explained by diffusion alone.

    • Ankur Deep Bordoloi
    • , David Scheidweiler
    •  & Pietro de Anna

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Device-level complexity represents a big shortcoming for the hardware realization of analogue memory-based deep neural networks. Mackin et al. report a generalized computational framework, translating software-trained weights into analogue hardware weights, to minimise inference accuracy degradation.

    • Charles Mackin
    • , Malte J. Rasch
    •  & Geoffrey W. Burr

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Spin-hall nano-oscillators are a variation on spin-torque nano-oscillators, where the spin-Hall effect is used to drive oscillations, however past examples have had limited frequency tunability. Here, Choi et al demonstrate spin-hall oscillators with wide voltage controlled frequency tunability.

    • Jong-Guk Choi
    • , Jaehyeon Park
    •  & Byong-Guk Park

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Retinal prostheses hold potential for artificial vision in blind people. Here, authors show that POLYRETINA, a large and high-density photovoltaic epiretinal device, restores light-evoked cortical responses in blind Göttingen minipigs at safe irradiance levels.

    • Paola Vagni
    • , Marta Jole Ildelfonsa Airaghi Leccardi
    •  & Diego Ghezzi

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Bioinks used in current in-situ bioprinting have limitations when applied to complex operational environments. Here, the authors report on the creation of a microgel reinforced GelMA bioink which can be simply prepared and used in different biomedical settings. The application is demonstrated in a cranial defect model.

    • Mingjun Xie
    • , Yang Shi
    •  & Yong He

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Mechanical twinning is difficult to trigger in face centered cubic alloys with high stacking fault energies (SFEs) under standard tensile loading. Here, the authors report high stress twinning in a bulk compositionally complex steel of very high SFE, enhancing the material’s mechanical performance.

    • Zhangwei Wang
    • , Wenjun Lu
    •  & Zhiming Li

  • Article
    | Open Access

    This paper proposes an unconventional type of antennas that are composed by epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) media. The operating frequencies of such antennas are independent of their geometries, and are determined by material dispersion.

    • Hao Li
    • , Ziheng Zhou
    •  & Nader Engheta

  • Article
    | Open Access

    A horizon scan was used to explore possible impacts of robotics and automated systems on achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Positive effects are likely. Iterative regulatory processes and continued dialogue could help avoid environmental damages and increases in inequality.

    • Solène Guenat
    • , Phil Purnell
    •  & Martin Dallimer

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Current single-cell tools are limited by the number of proteins they can analyse. Here the authors report a single-cell cyclic multiplex in situ tagging (CycMIST) method for functional proteome profiling of single cells, allowing multiple rounds of multiplexing of the same single cells on a microchip.

    • Liwei Yang
    • , Avery Ball
    •  & Jun Wang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    One challenge for spin-based electronics is the controlled and reliable switching of magnetization without magnetic fields. Here, Liu et al investigate a variety of compositions of CoPt, and determine the specific composition to maximize switching performance, potentially simplifying device design.

    • Liang Liu
    • , Chenghang Zhou
    •  & Jingsheng Chen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Ultrasound has had tremendous success in medical imaging. Here, Zhang et al demonstrate a batteryless implantable CMOS mote, to further augment the potential of ultrasound, providing additional information via the backscattering of the acoustic waves used in ultrasound imaging.

    • Yihan Zhang
    • , Prashant Muthuraman
    •  & Kenneth L. Shepard

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