Researchers from Drexel University who discovered a versatile type of two-dimensional conductive nanomaterial, called a MXene, nearly a decade and a half ago, have now reported on a process for producing its one-dimensional cousin: the MXene nanoscroll. The group posits that these materials, which are 100 times thinner than human hair yet more conductive than their two-dimensional counterparts, could be used to improve the performance of energy storage devices, biosensors and wearable technology.

Researchers have developed a new method for 3D printing objects with very different properties, including levels of hardness and transparency, on a pixel-by-pixel basis while using commonly available materials and inexpensive 3D printers. The method could lend itself to the creation of realistic models of body parts for medical students to practice surgery on or new types of personal protective gear.

Kennesaw State University associate professor of science education Preethi Titu is working on an NSF-funded project designed to use virtual reality (VR) to improve undergraduate education in STEM education.

Scientists have developed a 3D, AI-based tool for viewing hearing cells. To understand hearing damage from noise and aging, and develop new treatments, scientists need detailed images of hair cells. The new VASCilia tool uses deep learning to accelerate sensory cell image processing and analysis.

University of Pennsylvania researchers and colleagues have discovered how plants respond to seasonal flowering cues while protecting the stem cells at their growing tip, enabling continuous reproduction in changing environments.

Scientists have found the first known correlation between latitude and the rate of mimicry evolution in butterflies, consistent with a longstanding theory of biodiversity that can trace its origin to Alfred Russel Wallace, the co-discoverer of evolution by natural selection.

Writing in Nature, a team led by physicists Cory Dean from Columbia University and Jia Li from the University of Texas at Austin has observed a superfluid, which normally remains in constant motion, come to a standstill. “For the first time, we’ve seen a superfluid undergo a phase transition to become what appears to be a supersolid,” said Dean. It’s like water freezing to ice, but at the quantum level.

According to Hui Yang, Gary and Sheila Bello Chair in Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering at Penn State, and Kevin Mekulu, an industrial engineering and operations research doctoral candidate, artificial intelligence (AI) could be used to better understand and detect neurodegenerative diseases like dementia and Alzheimer's. In a Q&A, Yang and Mekulu shared how AI-powered screening methods could contribute to cognitive care, helping clinicians intervene sooner and improve patient outcomes.