This review has examined recent advancements in hydrogel-based soft bioelectronics for personalized healthcare, focusing on three key challenges: achieving wide-range modulus coverage, balancing multiple functional properties and achieving effective organ fixation. We explored strategies for tuning hydrogel mechanical properties to match diverse tissues, from soft brain to stiff tendons, through innovative network designs. Methods for imparting conductivity to hydrogels, including ionic conductivity, conductive fillers, and conductive polymers, were analyzed for their unique advantages in bioelectronic applications. We highlighted approaches for decoupling mechanical and electrical properties in hydrogels, such as network design strategies incorporating sliding-ring structures to address the brittleness of conductive polymers, and the novel concept of all-hydrogel devices to fundamentally decouple mechanical and electrical performances. These innovations provide potential solutions to the traditional trade-offs between mechanical robustness and electrical conductivity. Beyond electrical interfacing, we discussed hydrogels' potential in acoustic and optical coupling, expanding their functionality in bioelectronics. The review introduced hydrogel self-morphing as an alternative to adhesion-based methods for targeted organ fixation, offering improved conformability and reduced tissue damage. Finally, we categorized and analyzed applications of hydrogel-based bioelectronics in wearable and implantable devices, demonstrating their versatility in personalized healthcare, from epidermal sensing and therapy to neural interfaces and bioadhesives.

This review has examined recent advancements in hydrogel-based soft bioelectronics for personalized healthcare, focusing on three key challenges: achieving wide-range modulus coverage, balancing multiple functional properties and achieving effective organ fixation. We explored strategies for tuning hydrogel mechanical properties to match diverse tissues, from soft brain to stiff tendons, through innovative network designs. Methods for imparting conductivity to hydrogels, including ionic conductivity, conductive fillers, and conductive polymers, were analyzed for their unique advantages in bioelectronic applications. We highlighted approaches for decoupling mechanical and electrical properties in hydrogels, such as network design strategies incorporating sliding-ring structures to address the brittleness of conductive polymers, and the novel concept of all-hydrogel devices to fundamentally decouple mechanical and electrical performances. These innovations provide potential solutions to the traditional trade-offs between mechanical robustness and electrical conductivity. Beyond electrical interfacing, we discussed hydrogels' potential in acoustic and optical coupling, expanding their functionality in bioelectronics. The review introduced hydrogel self-morphing as an alternative to adhesion-based methods for targeted organ fixation, offering improved conformability and reduced tissue damage. Finally, we categorized and analyzed applications of hydrogel-based bioelectronics in wearable and implantable devices, demonstrating their versatility in personalized healthcare, from epidermal sensing and therapy to neural interfaces and bioadhesives.

In a paper published in National Science Review, an international team of scientists introduce a new perspective review on liquid-solid composite materials by exploring confined interface behavior. They explore these materials through the collaborative and complementary design of liquid materials and solid materials within the confined interface, especially focusing on the motion behavior of confined liquids. The article focuses on the frontier development of the confined interface behavior of liquid-solid composites. And it puts forward for the first time the concept and connotation of liquid-based confined interface materials (LCIMs), further discussing the challenges and opportunities in its future development.

A study published in National Science Review reveals that carbon-14 (C-14) from algae can integrate into zebrafish biomolecules through a food chain transfer pathway, causing metabolic changes and neurological alterations.

In a paper published in National Science Review, researchers from Beihang University, the Institute of Physics (Chinese Academy of Sciences), and Fudan University demonstrated room-temperature ultrafast spin current generation and terahertz radiation in a two-dimensional superlattice (Fe₃GeTe₂/CrSb)₃, overcoming the challenge of its Curie temperature being only 206 K. In tandem with first-principle calculations and time-resolved magneto-optical Kerr effect measurements, the study reveals a laser-enhanced proximity effect as the origin of the spin currents, causing transient spin polarization in the superlattice.

A joint research team led by Prof. Jie Zhang found the reasons of discrepancies between experimental results of neutron spectral moment analyses and hydrodynamic predictions in nuclear burning plasmas in the recent inertial confinement fusion (ICF) experiments conducted at the National Ignition Facility, through unprecedented kinetic simulations incorporating large-angle collisions. These collisions generate supra-thermal ions during the deposition of alpha particles, causing deviations from the equilibrium state and falling outside the scope of the hydrodynamic descriptions. The kinetic simulations further reveal that large-angle collisions play a pivotal role in advancing the ignition moment and augmenting the deposition of α-particles in ICF nuclear burning plasmas.

Among the hundreds of thousands of chemical compounds produced by plants, some may hold the key to treating human ailments and diseases. But recreating these complex, naturally occurring molecules in the lab often requires a time-consuming and tedious trial-and-error process. Now, chemists from Scripps Research have shown how new computational tools can help them create complex natural compounds in a faster and more streamlined way.