Adriana Dias and co-authors report a low-cost bioassay for the detection of low concentrations of lead in drinking water. The approach uses a genetically modified strain of Escherichia coli, which serves as both signal amplifier and reporter of lead in water, measured via colour change.

Conventional electronic chip packaging generates a huge thermal resistance due to the low thermal conductivity of the packaging materials that separate chip dies and coolant. Here Pengfei Bai and colleagues propose and fabricate a closed high-conducting heat chip package for the rapid diffusion of hot spots, eliminating the energy consumption required for heat management of electronic chips.

When mapping brain activity with optogenetic techniques, patterned illumination is critical for targeted stimulation. Here, implantable silicon neural probes forming a single steerable beam are developed and in vivo demonstrations reported the device’s potential for deep brain optogenetic stimulation

Kenji Shimazoe and co-authors present an indirect fine-pitch X-ray photon-counting detector by combining silicon photomultiplier arrays and fast scintillation crystals. The detector is capable of detecting the photons and differentiating them by the energy level.

Flexible conductive hearing aids with an array of actuators improve patients’ hearing noninvasively. Here, an array of micro-epidermal actuators was implemented into the hearing aid and improved the hearing threshold by 30.5 dB at 1 kHz.

The climate crisis demands low-carbon solutions at the individual scale. Jiahe Xu, Xuan Zhang, Daniel M. Kammen and colleagues propose a body grid framework and mechanisms to enhance energy efficiency and personal comfort, with simulations suggesting up to 50% global savings in space cooling and heating.

Samyadip Sarkar, David Yang, and colleagues demonstrate how to extend electro-quasistatic body communication to conductive objects through the human body to enable a human-computer interaction. Their proof-of-concept study shows an interaction between wearable and off-body communicating devices via a conductive surface.

Yaoming Zhuang and colleagues propose an efficient deep learning framework that combines convolutional neural networks (CNNs) with the Structured Space Model (SSM). This lightweight design is tailored for the accurate detection of small targets in complex and dynamic underwater environments.

This paper demonstrates a highly efficient on-chip solar cell design that achieves 25.79% photoelectric conversion efficiency by reducing electrode shading through innovative center electrodes and high-doping interconnections. The results support the development of stable, self-powered microsensors for Internet of Things(IoT) applications.

Alhazmi and Sarathy report a data-driven dynamic optimization approach for the process control of complex industrial systems. Their study provides a practical solution for process optimization by leveraging historical plant data without requiring extensive modeling efforts.

Operational data of lithium-ion batteries from battery electric vehicles can be logged and used to model lithium-ion battery aging, i.e., the state of health. Here, we discuss future State of Health definitions, the use of data from battery production beyond production, the logging & aggregation of operational data and challenges of the State of Health in automotive applications. Our suggestions could improve data transfer efficiency and data storage costs.

With global conflicts on the rise, it is crucial for researchers in science, engineering, and technology to engage more actively in promoting peace. Here, Mariazel Maqueda-López et al. propose a practical framework focusing on common language, needs-driven innovation, stakeholder collaboration, and minimizing harm.

Daniel Perez Lopez is Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer at iPronics, a company dedicated to the development and commercialization of integrated programmable photonic circuits. His company focuses both on hardware advances for novel circuit and component architectures as well as software advances leading to the creation of fault-tolerant automated routines enabling advanced optical networking and processing, specially for AI infrastructure and intra-datacenter communications. As a young entrepreneur, Daniel shares with us his experiences and insights of the academia-industry transition and building a spin-out company from his university research.

A recent publication in Nature Communications describes the use of cameras on hovering drones to detect submillimetre displacements of bridge spans.

Learning from the 2023 Kahramanmaraş Earthquake Sequence offers valuable insights into disaster recovery. Carmine Galasso and Eyitayo Opabola delve into the intricacies of the “Build Back Better” (BBB) concept, underscoring the importance of recovery and reconstruction efforts toward a future that is not only more resilient but also more sustainable and equitable.

Recent high-profile concrete material failures, including the collapse of parts of public buildings in the UK, have highlighted the need for a greater understanding of the durability of concrete. Here, John Provis explores the need to recognise the complexity of concrete when planning both the research and application of this key construction material.