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Squeeze those hydrogels

A research team from Japan and France has developed a new sort of mechanophore, a molecule that jumps into action when it experiences force, kind of like an assistant inside the softer hydrogel that wakes up to help and make them stronger.

It’s all thanks to a naturally derived molecule called camphanediol. This molecule is tough in the heat, steady under UV light and ready to react when squeezed. Most mechanophores break down easily or need delicate chemical setups to work — but not this one.

When camphanediol gets stretched or pulled inside a hydrogel, it snaps certain chemical bonds in a very specific way. This releases mechanoradicals — tiny chemical sparks that can start new reactions. These sparks reinforce the material, similar to rebuilding muscle after a workout.

Tests showed that hydrogels with camphanediol generated over four times more of these strengthening sparks than regular versions. Additionally, the more it was stressed, the stronger it got, without resulting damage.

The findings could lead to smart materials that adapt and increase resilience on the fly, perfect for soft robots, medical devices and wearable tech.

The paper was published in Chemical Science.

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The human phenotype project

A new study tracking over 28,000 participants published in Nature Medicine embarking on a Human Phenotype Project (HPP) aims to identify health problems before they show up in the body.

The HPP takes a deep dive in the genes, metabolism, gut microbiome and daily lifestyle habits and hopes to change how we think about health.

Over 13,000 volunteers have already completed their initial check-up, and wearable gadgets like sleep trackers and glucose monitors are producing volumes of data. The goal is to understand how individuals migrate from healthy to ill and how to stop it from happening.

Initial results indicate significant difference in health markers depending on factors like age and ethnicity, implying that the typical “normal ranges” doctors use might be too one-size-fits-all.

Early results show the AI-powered models are better than the usual tools at predicting those who might be at risk for things like diabetes and have picked up on gut bacteria linked to breast cancer and inflammatory bowel disease.

The end game is that every human could have a digital twin to simulate health progression and test how medical treatments and lifestyle changes could affect us beforehand.

This is a 25-year plan, and with international growth on the horizon, the Human Phenotype Project could change the way medicine is practiced forever.

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Sweat versus cancer

Research tells us that exercise is a great way to “>boost immunity. With this in mind, a small study published in the Journal of Sport and Health Science found some promising results in a group of people with esophageal cancer who exercised during chemotherapy.

Half of the participants were given a mix of cardiovascular and strength-training exercises to complete over the course of 16 weeks. The other half of the group received regular, standard care without exercise programs.

The patients who maintained the exercise program proved to have more cancer-fighting immune cells (CD8+T cells and natural killer cells) in their tumors.

They also had more tertiary lymphoid structures. Normally, the immune system works out of larger centers like the lymph nodes, but these “hubs” are like command centers that set themselves up when and where danger, like a growing tumor, is detected. These are important because they set up more localized attacks.

Though the tumors didn’t shrink in size and survival rates did not alter, results are promising. The scientists say further research is required to see whether such an immune activation will lead to enhanced longer-term outcomes.

In the interim, staying active during chemotherapy might assist your body in rallying its internal troops.

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Quantum tag-team breaks
sound barrier

A team at the Niels Bohr Institute in Denmark has created a hybrid quantum system, breaking through old limits in the “acoustic” range — the same frequency range as sound waves.

This means sensors can now pick up super-small signals in the acoustic range.

By pairing special entangled laser beams with a cloud of atoms acting like a “negative-mass” gadget, they were able to omit some of the random noise that usually blurs measurements.

The paper, published in Nature, says that breaking through the quantum noise may help scientists to build better gravitational-wave detectors that listen for tiny ripples in space-time caused by events like black hole collisions, ultimately changing how we listen to the universe.

The setup is simpler and smaller than previous systems, making it possible for development of applications in other high-precision tools.

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Wear a coat

Scientists at West Virginia University have made major strides with high-tech batteries known as protonic ceramic electrochemical cells (PCECs) that are responsible for cleaning and storing clean energy.

Typically, when exposed to hot, humid steam, PCECs break down quickly, making them impractical for industrially relevant use in grid-scale energy storage.

The researchers, however, have built a protective coating that addresses this issue.

The coating, a sponge-like ceramic structure covered with an ultra-thin layer of PBNO — a steam-tolerant material — protects the sensitive parts from steam damage while allowing the cell to continue functioning.

This means the cells can operate dependably for more than 5,000 hours at 600 degrees Celsius in steamy conditions, which is a record for this technology.

The paper published in Nature Energy states that the cells can also handle sudden temperature changes and work more efficiently.
This means potentially making long-lasting, efficient energy storage possible, helping solar and wind power supply energy around the clock.

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