Collagen-based microgels and nanogels are extremely small in size and consist of cross-linked polymer networks made of the protein collagen or its derivatives. They can function as a ‘delivery system’ that releases substances such as drugs at specifically targeted sites in the body. Now, researchers have published an in-depth review on the manufacturing processes, drug release mechanisms, and biomedical applications of these hydrogel systems, including wound repair and cancer treatment.

Increased micro- and nanoplastic (MNP) pollution and its poorly understood biomedical impacts raise questions on their cell and tissue uptake mechanisms and effects on the absorptive tissues. Dmitriev’s team reports a new microscopy-based approach enabling dynamic imaging of dye-modified micro- and nanoplastics (MNP). When combined with stem cell-derived intestinal organoids, with controlled apical and basal polarity, this approach enables for sensitive detection and quantification of MNPs, their internalization and biological effects.

A new study has revealed that biochar, a carbon-rich material made from crop residues, can significantly reduce the persistence of the widely used herbicide fluridone in agricultural soils, while also protecting soil microbes and improving crop growth.

A team of scientists has created low-carbon building blocks that not only reduce greenhouse gas emissions but also minimize the leaching of toxic metals when construction waste reaches the end of its life cycle. The findings, published in Biochar, highlight the potential of biochar-amended fly ash cement blocks as a sustainable alternative for the construction industry.

Kyoto, Japan -- The concept of quantum entanglement is emblematic of the gap between classical and quantum physics. Referring to a situation in which it is impossible to describe the physics of each photon separately, this key characteristic of quantum mechanics defies the classical expectation that each particle should have a reality of its own, which gravely concerned Einstein. Understanding the potential of this concept is essential for the realization of powerful new quantum technologies.

Developing such technologies will require the ability to freely generate a multi-photon quantum entangled state, and then to efficiently identify what kind of entangled state is present. However, when performing conventional quantum tomography, a method commonly used for state estimation, the number of measurements required grows exponentially with the number of photons, posing a significant data collection problem.

If available, an entangled measurement can identify the entangled state with a one-shot approach. Such a measurement for the Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger -- GHZ -- entangled quantum state has been realized, but for the W state, the other representative entangled multi-photon state, it has been neither proposed nor discovered experimentally.