Researchers at Kyushu University have developed a smart hydrogel film that changes color to signal food spoilage in real time. By immobilizing anthocyanins, a natural plant pigment, onto a metal-organic framework, the team stabilized the pigment against light and heat while preserving its pH sensitivity. Flexible, largely biodegradable, and able to seal its own surface cuts, the film offers a reliable, objective way to assess food quality and extend shelf life.

What if artificial intelligence could help stop harmful algal blooms before they start? With an $800,475 EPA grant, FAU researchers are developing AI-guided, 3D-printed structures made from sargassum that capture excess phosphorus, a key nutrient fueling toxic algal blooms. Using Lake Okeechobee as a testbed, the three-year project combines AI, advanced manufacturing and environmental engineering to optimize where and how the structures are deployed, creating a durable, retrievable and reusable technology with potential to restore freshwater systems worldwide. 

Telemedicine commonly uses video calls to reach patients near and far, but the technology limits what senses caregivers can use during their evaluation. Dr. Pijuan Yu and his collaborators at Texas A&M University are seeking to go beyond telemedicine’s use of audio and video. They want to add an entirely new dimension: touch.

The 46th COSPAR Scientific Assembly brought together experts from astronomy, the satellite industry, policy and law to examine one of the most important challenges arising from the rapid growth of activities in space: how to preserve dark and quiet skies while enabling satellite systems to continue delivering valuable services to society. The meeting was chaired by Marco Tavani. 

Researchers have developed a directly synthesized p-type PbS quantum dot (QD) ink that can form uniform short-wave infrared imaging films on 6-inch silicon wafers. The ink avoids a common post-treatment step (ligand exchange process) that can crack films and make pixels uneven. Prototype imagers made with the ink produced more uniform images and helped vehicle recognition under foggy conditions.

For the first time, scientists have observed a three-dimensional woven structure forming naturally inside a crystal, revealing a previously unknown way in which matter can organize itself.