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Constructing a crystalline-amorphous hybrid structure is an effective strategy to overcome the conflict between the strength and toughness of materials. However, achieving such a material structure often involves complex, energy-intensive processing. Here, we leverage the natural wood featuring coexisting crystalline and amorphous regions to achieve superstrong and ultratough wood paper (W-paper) via a dual-phase nanostructure regulation strategy. After partially removing amorphous hemicellulose and eliminating most lignin, the treated wood can self-densify through an energy-efficient air drying, resulting in a W-paper with high tensile strength, toughness, and folding endurance. Coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations reveal the underlying deformation mechanism of the crystalline and amorphous regions inside cell walls and the failure mechanism of the W-paper under tension. Life cycle assessment reveals that W-paper shows a lower environmental impact than commercial paper and common plastics. This dual-phase nanostructure regulation based on natural wood may provide valuable insights for developing high-performance and sustainable film materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Constructing a crystalline-amorphous hybrid structure is an effective strategy to overcome the conflict between the strength and toughness of materials. However, achieving such a material structure often involves complex, energy-intensive processing. Here, we leverage the natural wood featuring coexisting crystalline and amorphous regions to achieve superstrong and ultratough wood paper (W-paper) via a dual-phase nanostructure regulation strategy. After partially removing amorphous hemicellulose and eliminating most lignin, the treated wood can self-densify through an energy-efficient air drying, resulting in a W-paper with high tensile strength, toughness, and folding endurance. Coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations reveal the underlying deformation mechanism of the crystalline and amorphous regions inside cell walls and the failure mechanism of the W-paper under tension. Life cycle assessment reveals that W-paper shows a lower environmental impact than commercial paper and common plastics. This dual-phase nanostructure regulation based on natural wood may provide valuable insights for developing high-performance and sustainable film materials.

The article highlights the correction of a Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) paper co-authored by chemist Chad Mirkin after a legal dispute, focusing on criticisms regarding the evidence for spherical nucleic acids (SNAs) and claims of defamation.

Mechanically transformative electronic systems (TESs) built using gallium have emerged as an innovative class of electronics due to their ability to switch between rigid and flexible states, thus expanding the versatility of electronics. However, the challenges posed by gallium's high surface tension and low viscosity have substantially hindered manufacturability, limiting high-resolution patterning of TESs. To address this challenge, we introduce a stiffness-tunable gallium-copper composite ink capable of direct ink write printing of intricate TES circuits, offering high-resolution (~50 micrometers) patterning, high conductivity, and bidirectional soft-rigid convertibility. These features enable transformative bioelectronics with design complexity akin to traditional printed circuit boards. These TESs maintain rigidity at room temperature for easy handling but soften and conform to curvilinear tissue surfaces at body temperature, adapting to dynamic tissue deformations. The proposed ink with direct ink write printing makes TES manufacturing simple and versatile, opening possibilities in wearables, implantables, consumer electronics, and robotics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the retraction of a paper on cancer microbiome research, published in 2020 in the journal "Nature" that claims of identifying microbial signatures of different human cancers.

The article focuses on the detection of suspicious acronyms, termed "tortured acronyms," in scientific papers, often indicative of plagiarism or misconduct, leading to the development of automated tools by researchers for identifying such anomalies, which have been integrated into existing systems like the Problematic Paper Screener (PPS) to aid publishers in screening submissions and uncovering potential instances of deception or unethical practices in academic publishing.

The article focuses on Nature retracting a highly cited 2002 paper on adult stem cells due to allegations of duplicated data, raising concerns about scientific integrity and transparency.

The article focuses on a news investigation revealing over 900 medical studies published since 1996 with authors having financial ties to tobacco companies, including 27 papers appearing in journals, most notably from MDPI, that explicitly prohibit authors with such connections.

The article flags over 100 papers for concern, linked to ethical violations by French microbiologist Didier Raoult and his team, including an illegal clinical trial on hydroxychloroquine in COVID-19 patients.

The article offers information on the retraction of papers from a genetics journal due to concerns about informed consent for study participants, particularly from ethnic minorities in China.

The article focuses on a study which found that open-access articles attract more citations from scholars in a wider range of locations, institutions, and disciplines than paywalled papers.

A new study challenges the prevailing theory that sleep helps cleanse the brain of waste products and toxins. The study found that the mouse brain clears small dye molecules more efficiently while awake than when asleep or under anesthesia. While some researchers see this as a blow to the sleep clearance theory, others argue that the new study's methods are too different from previous work to be credible. The debate continues, with researchers exploring different mechanisms for waste clearance in the brain. [Extracted from the article]

Accusations have been made against high-profile papers documenting honeybee navigation, specifically regarding the existence of an internal "odometer" that relies on visual cues. Two scientists have raised concerns about possible miscalculations, image reuse, and data manipulation in 10 key papers. The author of these papers, Mandyam Veerambudi "Srini" Srinivasan, denies the allegations and states that his conclusions remain firm and have been independently replicated. While some researchers support Srinivasan, others believe that the claims need to be revisited. The journal Science is evaluating the concerns, and further investigation may be necessary. [Extracted from the article]

The article discusses the issue of manipulating research metrics, specifically citation counts, and highlights the ease with which this can be done. The authors of the article conducted an experiment where they created a fake profile for a cat named Larry and uploaded fake papers authored by Larry to ResearchGate. These fake papers received citations, making Larry the world's most highly cited cat. The article emphasizes the importance of addressing this issue and calls for less reliance on metrics like the h-index. It also mentions previous instances of manipulating Google Scholar with fake papers. [Extracted from the article]

A recent study published in Nature Human Behaviour has revealed that the ornaments worn by ice age hunters in Europe 30,000 years ago may have signaled membership in specific cultures. The study compared thousands of handcrafted beads and adornments from various sites and identified at least nine distinct cultures across Europe during this time. The research challenges previous assumptions and highlights the importance of archaeology in understanding ancient populations. The study also suggests that genetic and cultural boundaries were porous, with shared ancestry not always aligning with similar jewelry choices. [Extracted from the article]

A recent claim made by paleoanthropologist Lee Berger and his team about the burial practices of Homo naledi, an ancient human relative, has been challenged by critics. The claim, which suggests that H. naledi deliberately buried its dead about 250,000 years ago, was initially announced through unreviewed preprints and a media campaign. However, a paper published in the peer-reviewed journal PaleoAnthropology concludes that there is no evidence to support this claim. The critics argue that the evidence provided by Berger's team is insufficient and that the marks found in the cave could have been made by natural processes or more recent visitors. Berger's team acknowledges the problems with their original preprint and plans to post a revision with new evidence. The debate highlights the challenges of determining whether a skeleton was buried naturally or by human hands. [Extracted from the article]

Living tissues are still far from being used as practical components in biohybrid robots because of limitations in life span, sensitivity to environmental factors, and stringent culture procedures. Here, we introduce fungal mycelia as an easy-to-use and robust living component in biohybrid robots. We constructed two biohybrid robots that use the electrophysiological activity of living mycelia to control their artificial actuators. The mycelia sense their environment and issue action potential–like spiking voltages as control signals to the motors and valves of the robots that we designed and built. The paper highlights two key innovations: first, a vibration- and electromagnetic interference–shielded mycelium electrical interface that allows for stable, long-term electrophysiological bioelectric recordings during untethered, mobile operation; second, a control architecture for robots inspired by neural central pattern generators, incorporating rhythmic patterns of positive and negative spikes from the living mycelia. We used these signals to control a walking soft robot as well as a wheeled hard one. We also demonstrated the use of mycelia to respond to environmental cues by using ultraviolet light stimulation to augment the robots' gaits. Editor's summary: Many biohybrid robots are powered by animal or plant cells, which are sensitive to specific culture procedures and limited to short life spans. In contrast, fungi can be easily cultured and are robust in extreme conditions. Taking advantage of fungal mycelia's natural light sensitivity, Mishra et al. developed an electrical interface to both house the mycelia and measure their electrophysiological action potentials. A control model was then developed to use the rhythmic voltage spikes from the living mycelia to control the locomotion of both a soft starfish-inspired robot and a wheeled robot. Robot trajectories could be altered by stimulating the mycelia with ultraviolet light. —Melisa Yashinski [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The adjuvant AS01 plays a key role in the immunogenicity of several approved human vaccines with demonstrated high efficacy. Its adjuvant effect relies on activation of the innate immune system. However, specific effects of AS01-adjuvanted vaccines on innate cell function and epigenetic remodeling, as described for Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) and influenza vaccines, are still unknown. We assessed the long-term functional and epigenetic changes in circulating monocytes and dendritic cells induced by a model vaccine containing hepatitis B surface antigen and AS01 in healthy adults (NCT01777295). The AS01-adjuvanted vaccine, but not an Alum-adjuvanted vaccine, increased the number of circulating monocytes and their expression of human leukocyte antigen (HLA)–DR, which correlated with the magnitude of the memory CD4+ T cell response. Single-cell analyses revealed epigenetic alterations in monocyte and dendritic cell subsets, affecting accessibility of transcription factors involved in cell functions including activator protein-1 (AP-1), GATA, C/EBP, and interferon regulatory factor. The functional changes were characterized by a reduced proinflammatory response to Toll-like receptor activation and an improved response to interferon-γ, a cytokine critical for the adjuvant's mode of action. Epigenetic changes were most evident shortly after the second vaccine dose in CD14+ monocytes, for which accessibility differences of some transcription factors could persist for up to 6 months postvaccination. Together, we show that reprogramming of monocyte subsets occurs after vaccination with an AS01-adjuvanted vaccine, an effect that may contribute to the impact of vaccination beyond antigen-specific protection. Editor's summary: Most vaccines based on recombinant antigens rely on coadministration with an adjuvant to elicit a robust immune response. Although adjuvants are needed for many vaccines, it is less clear which adjuvant(s) should be paired with each immunogen. In two papers, Bechtold et al. and Arunachalam et al. performed comparative analyses to assess the effect of different adjuvants on the immune response. Bechtold et al. showed that an AS01-adjuvanted hepatitis B virus vaccine, which induces robust CD4+ T cell responses against the vaccine antigen, also elicited trained immunity in human recipients, which was not observed in an Alum-adjuvanted vaccine. Arunachalam et al. found that Matrix-M and 3M-052 + Alum adjuvantation induced robust immune responses to the R21 malaria vaccine in nonhuman primates, but a third comparator, GLA-LSQ, elicited a lower magnitude of response that was short lived. Although Matrix-M and 3M-052 + Alum induced robust and durable antibody responses, they elicited distinct innate immune responses, demonstrating that multiple innate immune mechanisms can program durable vaccine-induced immunity. These head-to-head comparisons in both humans and nonhuman primates demonstrate that selecting an adjuvant should be done carefully and that different adjuvants have distinct effects on both innate and adaptive immunity. —Courtney Malo [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Authorization of the Matrix-M (MM)–adjuvanted R21 vaccine by three countries and its subsequent endorsement by the World Health Organization for malaria prevention in children are a milestone in the fight against malaria. Yet, our understanding of the innate and adaptive immune responses elicited by this vaccine remains limited. Here, we compared three clinically relevant adjuvants [3M-052 + aluminum hydroxide (Alum) (3M), a TLR7/8 agonist formulated in Alum; GLA-LSQ, a TLR4 agonist formulated in liposomes with QS-21; and MM, the now-approved adjuvant for R21] for their capacity to induce durable immune responses to R21 in macaques. R21 adjuvanted with 3M on a 0, 8, and 23–week schedule elicited anti-circumsporozoite antibody responses comparable in magnitude to the R21/MM vaccine administered using a 0-4-8–week regimen and persisted up to 72 weeks with a half-life of 337 days. A booster dose at 72 weeks induced a recall response similar to the R21/MM vaccination. In contrast, R21/GLA-LSQ immunization induced a lower, short-lived response at the dose used. Consistent with the durable serum antibody responses, MM and 3M induced long-lived plasma cells in the bone marrow and other tissues, including the spleen. Furthermore, whereas 3M stimulated potent and persistent antiviral transcriptional and cytokine signatures after primary and booster immunizations, MM induced enhanced expression of interferon- and TH2-related signatures more highly after the booster vaccination. Collectively, these findings provide a resource on the immune responses of three clinically relevant adjuvants with R21 and highlight the promise of 3M as another adjuvant for malarial vaccines. Editor's summary: Most vaccines based on recombinant antigens rely on coadministration with an adjuvant to elicit a robust immune response. Although adjuvants are needed for many vaccines, it is less clear which adjuvant(s) should be paired with each immunogen. In two papers, Bechtold et al. and Arunachalam et al. performed comparative analyses to assess the effect of different adjuvants on the immune response. Bechtold et al. showed that an AS01-adjuvanted hepatitis B virus vaccine, which induces robust CD4+ T cell responses against the vaccine antigen, also elicited trained immunity in human recipients, which was not observed in an alum-adjuvanted vaccine. Arunachalam et al. found that Matrix-M and 3M-052 + aluminum hydroxide (Alum) adjuvantation induced robust immune responses to the R21 malaria vaccine in nonhuman primates, but a third comparator, GLA-LSQ, elicited a lower magnitude of response that was short lived. Although Matrix-M and 3M-052 + Alum induced robust and durable antibody responses, they elicited distinct innate immune responses, demonstrating that multiple innate immune mechanisms can program durable vaccine-induced immunity. These head-to-head comparisons in both humans and nonhuman primates demonstrate that selecting an adjuvant should be done carefully and that different adjuvants have distinct effects on both innate and adaptive immunity. —Courtney Malo [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lumbar spine injuries resulting from heavy or repetitive lifting remain a prevalent concern in workplaces. Back-support devices have been developed to mitigate these injuries by aiding workers during lifting tasks. However, existing devices often fall short in providing multidimensional force assistance for asymmetric lifting, an essential feature for practical workplace use. In addition, validation of device safety across the entire human spine has been lacking. This paper introduces the Bilateral Back Extensor Exosuit (BBEX), a robotic back-support device designed to address both functionality and safety concerns. The design of the BBEX draws inspiration from the anatomical characteristics of the human spine and back extensor muscles. Using a multi–degree-of-freedom architecture and serially connected linear actuators, the device's components are strategically arranged to closely mimic the biomechanics of the human spine and back extensor muscles. To establish the efficacy and safety of the BBEX, a series of experiments with human participants was conducted. Eleven healthy male participants engaged in symmetric and asymmetric lifting tasks while wearing the BBEX. The results confirm the ability of the BBEX to provide effective multidimensional force assistance. Moreover, comprehensive safety validation was achieved through analyses of muscle fatigue in the upper and the lower erector spinae muscles, as well as mechanical loading on spinal joints during both lifting scenarios. By seamlessly integrating functionality inspired by human biomechanics with a focus on safety, this study offers a promising solution to address the persistent challenge of preventing lumbar spine injuries in demanding work environments. Editor's summary: Repetitive tasks involving lifting of objects such as in industrial settings can cause injuries to the spine and back muscles. Although wearable exoskeleton suits can be used in these settings to alleviate risks to injury, they may not provide multidimensional movement during asymmetric lifting. Kim et al. have developed an active Bilateral Back Extensor Exosuit capable of multidimensional force assistance during lifting tasks. The wearable device offers multiple degrees of freedom in range of motion and was shown to provide back muscle force assistance and to decrease compression on the spines of human participants during asymmetric and symmetric lifting tasks. —Amos Matsiko [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces an approach to fabricating lightweight, untethered soft robots capable of diverse biomimetic locomotion. Untethering soft robotics from electrical or pneumatic power remains one of the prominent challenges within the field. The development of functional untethered soft robotic systems hinges heavily on mitigating their weight; however, the conventional weight of pneumatic network actuators (pneu-nets) in soft robots has hindered untethered operations. To address this challenge, we developed film-balloon (FiBa) modules that drastically reduced the weight of soft actuators. FiBa modules combine transversely curved polymer thin films and three-dimensionally printed pneumatic balloons to achieve varied locomotion modes. These lightweight FiBa modules serve as building blocks to create untethered soft robots mimicking natural movement strategies. These modules substantially reduce overall robot weight, allowing the integration of components such as pumps, valves, batteries, and control boards, thereby enabling untethered operation. FiBa modules integrated with electronic components demonstrated four bioinspired modes of locomotion, including turtle-inspired crawling, inchworm-inspired climbing, bat-inspired perching, and ladybug-inspired flying. Overall, our study offers an alternative tool for designing and customizing lightweight, untethered soft robots with advanced functionalities. The reduction of the weight of soft robots enabled by our approach opens doors to a wide range of applications, including disaster relief, space exploration, remote sensing, and search and rescue operations, where lightweight, untethered soft robotic systems are essential. Editor's summary: Many soft robots rely on external electrical or pneumatic power sources accompanied by a physical cumbersome tether limiting the robots' range. To achieve untethered operation, Ching et al. combined a three-dimensionally printed pneumatic balloon and a curved polymer film to form a soft actuator termed film-balloon, or FiBa, actuator. These bending actuators are substantially lighter than other pneumatic actuators and can be combined with onboard pneumatic pumps, batteries, and controllers for untethered operation. The versatility of these actuators is demonstrated in various biomimetic robot designs that can crawl, climb, perch, and fly. Untethered robots capable of complex modes of locomotion could prove useful in remote operations such as rescue missions and space exploration. —Melisa Yashinski [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing robotic systems have a tension between generality and precision. Deployed solutions for robotic manipulation tend to fall into the paradigm of one robot solving a single task, lacking "precise generalization," or the ability to solve many tasks without compromising on precision. This paper explores solutions for precise and general pick and place. In precise pick and place, or kitting, the robot transforms an unstructured arrangement of objects into an organized arrangement, which can facilitate further manipulation. We propose SimPLE (Simulation to Pick Localize and placE) as a solution to precise pick and place. SimPLE learns to pick, regrasp, and place objects given the object's computer-aided design model and no prior experience. We developed three main components: task-aware grasping, visuotactile perception, and regrasp planning. Task-aware grasping computes affordances of grasps that are stable, observable, and favorable to placing. The visuotactile perception model relies on matching real observations against a set of simulated ones through supervised learning to estimate a distribution of likely object poses. Last, we computed a multistep pick-and-place plan by solving a shortest-path problem on a graph of hand-to-hand regrasps. On a dual-arm robot equipped with visuotactile sensing, SimPLE demonstrated pick and place of 15 diverse objects. The objects spanned a wide range of shapes, and SimPLE achieved successful placements into structured arrangements with 1-mm clearance more than 90% of the time for six objects and more than 80% of the time for 11 objects. Editor's summary: In robotic manipulation, there is often a trade-off between high accuracy for a repetitive motion and reliability in an unstructured environment. To teach a robot to move objects into an organized arrangement, Bauza et al. have developed a framework called SimPLE, which stands for Simulation to Pick, Localize, and placE. Given only a model of the object, the framework generates training data by sampling grasps in simulation. The SimPLE framework was tested with a set of 15 objects of different geometries on a dual-arm robot equipped with tactile sensors and an external depth camera. Using hand-to-hand regrasps, the robot successfully relocated the objects into structured arrangements, demonstrating the possibility of transferring a model learned in simulation to a real robot. —Melisa Yashinski [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dutch universities have implemented security measures to protect scientists who have been harassed or threatened, particularly those studying controversial topics such as climate change and migration. The measures include removing contact details from websites, relocating offices, and hiring additional security. In the field of Alzheimer's research, new criteria have been proposed for diagnosing the disease at its earliest stages, allowing for the identification of individuals who may not yet show symptoms. However, screening healthy individuals for the condition is not currently recommended outside of a research setting. A 50,000-year-old painting in an Indonesian cave has been identified as the world's oldest example of visual storytelling, predating European cave art by 15,000 years. The painting was protected by naturally deposited calcium carbonate and was dated using a laser. In the United States, a scientist involved in Alzheimer's drug development has been indicted on charges of defrauding the National Institutes of Health (NIH) of approximately $16 million in grants. The scientist is accused of faking data in grant applications. A paper that claimed to identify microbial signatures of different human cancers has been retracted due to unsupported conclusions. The paper had sparked follow-up research and the development of cancer diagnostics. The U.S. House of Representatives has proposed spending bills for 2025 that would hold the budget of the NIH flat and restrict funding for certain types of research. The bills also include cuts to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and restrictions on the Census Bureau. A study funded by the National Cancer [Extracted from the article]

NASA's Ingenuity helicopter completed its final flight on Mars after 72 flights, surpassing its original plan of 5 flights. The helicopter served as a scout for the Perseverance rover, helping it navigate hazardous terrain and collect rock samples. The Wellcome Trust has announced a £20 million fund to support Black, Bangladeshi, and Pakistani researchers in the UK, aiming to diversify the scientific workforce. An experimental compound developed by Vertex Pharmaceuticals has shown promise in relieving postsurgical pain without the risks associated with opioids. The World Health Organization has given emergency use approval to a low-cost COVID-19 vaccine called Corbevax, which was developed in India and has been widely distributed in the country. Several US museums have closed or covered up displays featuring Native American cultural artifacts due to new rules requiring tribal permission for display. The European Space Agency has approved the construction of an orbiting gravitational wave detector and a spacecraft to study Venus. Open-access articles attract more citations from a wider range of scholars and disciplines compared to paywalled papers, according to a study. A study of ice age jewelry from the Gravettian culture in Europe has revealed at least nine distinct styles, suggesting the presence of separate cultures within the group. [Extracted from the article]

We present an avatar system designed to facilitate the embodiment of humanoid robots by human operators, validated through iCub3, a humanoid developed at the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia. More precisely, the paper makes two contributions: First, we present the humanoid iCub3 as a robotic avatar that integrates the latest significant improvements after about 15 years of development of the iCub series. Second, we present a versatile avatar system enabling humans to embody humanoid robots encompassing aspects such as locomotion, manipulation, voice, and facial expressions with comprehensive sensory feedback including visual, auditory, haptic, weight, and touch modalities. We validated the system by implementing several avatar architecture instances, each tailored to specific requirements. First, we evaluated the optimized architecture for verbal, nonverbal, and physical interactions with a remote recipient. This testing involved the operator in Genoa and the avatar in the Biennale di Venezia, Venice—about 290 kilometers away—thus allowing the operator to visit the Italian art exhibition remotely. Second, we evaluated the optimized architecture for recipient physical collaboration and public engagement on stage, live, at the We Make Future show, a prominent world digital innovation festival. In this instance, the operator was situated in Genoa while the avatar operated in Rimini—about 300 kilometers away—interacting with a recipient who entrusted the avatar with a payload to carry on stage before an audience of approximately 2000 spectators. Third, we present the architecture implemented by the iCub Team for the All Nippon Airways (ANA) Avatar XPrize competition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]