A research team at the Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI) and the Faculty of Medicine at Kanazawa University has developed a new class of engineered extracellular vesicles (EVs) capable of inducing antigen-specific regulatory T cells (Tregs), the immune cells that play a central role in suppressing excessive immune responses. The findings, now published in Drug Delivery, may pave the way for next-generation therapies for autoimmune and allergic diseases, where unwanted immune activation must be precisely controlled.

A 2024 review by Sau, Orimo, and co-workers reveals universal design principles for fast ion conductors by organizing materials according to their structural frameworks rather than chemical composition. This approach identifies key features—3D interstitial networks, polarizable lattices, cooperative ion motion—that enable solid electrolytes to achieve liquid-like ionic conductivities, advancing all-solid-state battery development.

In a new Nature Physics study, researchers created particle-like so-called “vortex knots” inside chiral nematic liquid crystals, a twisted fluid similar to those used in LCD screens. For the first time, these knots are stable and could be reversibly switched between different knotted forms, using electric pulses to fuse and split them.