EurekAlert! News by Subject: Tech & Engineering - News by Subject: Tech & Engineering

Tech & Engineering

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 4-Apr-2026 21:16 ET (5-Apr-2026 01:16 GMT/UTC)

Tunable-pore microneedles dramatically speed up interstitial fluid sampling

Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers have developed a new type of porous microneedle that can extract interstitial fluid from skin faster than ever before, without drawing blood or causing pain.

Journal: Microsystems & Nanoengineering

3D visualization of internal defects in concrete to help improve aging infrastructure

Tohoku University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

International researchers have improved an ultrasonic phased array system, making it possible to see hidden defects in aging concrete infrastructure and potentially strengthening the efficiency of infrastructural maintenance.

Journal: Applied Physics Letters

HKUST develops breakthrough high‑efficiency, low‑cost wastewater treatment technology

Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) research team has developed a groundbreaking wastewater treatment technology that integrates a mesh bioreactor with an ultrasound-induced transient cavitation cleaning mechanism. The system can complete mesh cleaning within 3.8 seconds under anaerobic conditions and achieves 10-20 times higher flux than conventional membrane bioreactors (MBRs). The technology operates efficiently with substantially lower energy consumption, produces treated effluent surpassing international and local discharge standards, and reduces the cost of treating each cubic metre of wastewater to 50% of conventional MBRs, offering a sustainable solution for both municipal and industrial wastewater treatment.

Journal: Nature Water

Atomically engineered nanozymes for immunotherapy and disease treatment

KeAi Communications Co., Ltd.
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Atomically engineered nanozymes (AENs) combine precise nanotechnology with catalytic functions to enhance immune regulation through atomic-level control. AENs represent a promising frontier for personalized medicine and immune engineering

Journal: Nano Biomedicine and Engineering
Funder: National Natural Science Foundation of China, Hainan Provincial Natural Science Foundation High-Level Talent Project, HNMU-Research Start-up Funding, National Key Research Development Program of China, Science and Technology special fund of Hainan Province

From litter to power: Turning cigarette butts into high-performance supercapacitors

Maximum Academic Press
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A research team has developed a novel strategy to transform discarded cigarette butts—one of the world’s most pervasive and toxic forms of litter—into high-performance materials for energy storage.

A “new-to-nature” enzyme for amide synthesis: How PKU scientists repurposed an everyday enzyme to build life-saving drugs

Peking University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Peking University, February 1, 2026: A research team led by Prof. Lei Xiaoguang(http://www.chem.pku.edu.cn/leigroup/) at Peking University has achieved a major scientific breakthrough in the field of biosynthesis and biocatalysis. For the first time, they have developed a novel biocatalytic strategy that differs fundamentally from existing methods in terms of mechanism and synthetic logic, enabling transformative synthesis of amide bonds. This seminal discovery was published in Science on January 29, 2026, under the title: "Engineered aldehyde dehydrogenases for amide bond formation."

Digital twin reveals where buildings emit the most carbon

Maximum Academic Press
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A research team developed an integrated digital framework combining Building Information Modeling (BIM) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to quantify carbon emissions across a building’s entire life cycle.