When visiting the dentist, you might remember being poked and prodded by a thin metal instrument to check your teeth and gums. This technique, called periodontal probing, is used to look for signs of gum disease. Now, researchers publishing in ACS Sensors report a toothbrush-shaped ultrasound transducer that can provide a less invasive screening for gum disease. In proof-of-concept demonstrations on animal tissues, the device produced measurements similar to those of a manual probe.

One-pot recipes make preparing meals quick and easy. And one-pot 3D-printing could do the same for additive manufacturing. Now, researchers publishing in ACS Central Science have demonstrated a new resin that simultaneously creates solid objects and dissolvable structural supports, depending on what type of light the resin is exposed to. The approach could increase the applications for 3D-printed objects, including tissue engineering scaffolds, joints and hinges.

Lead contamination in municipal water sources is a consistent threat to public health. Ingesting even tiny amounts of lead can harm the human brain and nervous system — especially in young children. To empower people to detect lead contamination in their own homes, a team of researchers developed an accessible, handheld water-testing system called the E-Tongue. This device, described in ACS Omega, was tested through a citizen science project across four Massachusetts towns.