T-shirts that warn of excessive sun exposure or labels that reveal damage to light‑sensitive materials: researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have developed a coating that makes this possible—using proteins and bacteria. The coating reliably detects contact with UV-A radiation, is bio‑based, and could open the door to a wide range of new materials that draw on the biological functions of cells.

In the rapidly evolving world of two-dimensional materials, a small twist can have outsized consequences. Since the discovery that rotational misalignment between atomically thin crystals can reshape their electronic behaviour, moiré engineering has become a powerful design principle for quantum matter.

The soil microbiome is critical for the ecosystem, and agricultural practices that promote microbial diversity can support plant health and help protect against pests. But it is unclear which practices are most beneficial, and what motivates farmers to choose them. In a new study, researchers from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Cornell University analyzed surveys and soil samples from 85 organic farmers in New York to investigate the interaction between beliefs, management practices, and soil microbiome functions.

Many people with hypertension, a risk factor for strokes, heart attacks and kidney disease, do not have elevated blood pressure when examined in a doctor’s office.

For the first time, scientists have been able to watch the flu virus live as it infects human airway cells. They developed a new technique which makes the viral genetic material light up under the microscope. By tracking the virus throughout the steps of its life cycle, the researchers found out that only a minority of flu infections is successful. This is mostly due to errors in reading out the viral genetic material. The new technology can be used to address unanswered questions about the flu virus life cycle, which could help in the development of better antiviral drugs and preparation for future epidemics. The study from the Tanenbaum group at the Hubrecht Institute was published in Cell Systems.

In the last year, highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), commonly known as bird flu, swept through chicken coops across the nation, killing egg-laying hens and contributing to rising egg prices. The outbreaks underscored how vulnerable food systems can be to rapidly spreading biological threats and how urgently new predictive tools are needed to help producers respond.