A team from Shanghai University, Nanjing Medical University, and The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University developed a photothermal-responsive hydrogel (GMHD/TFe@Aca) loaded with Acacetin to enhance bone defect repair. By inhibiting the STING pathway and modulating macrophage polarization, it reduces inflammation and promotes bone regeneration. The hydrogel enables precise drug release under near-infrared light, with strong mechanical properties and adhesion. In mouse cranial defect models, it significantly boosted new bone formation without toxicity. This hydrogel offers a novel immune-modulating and regenerative strategy for bone repair, with potential clinical applications.

Sepsis is a life-threatening condition caused by dysregulation of the immune system after an infection. Corticosteroids are the only known and recommended course of treatment. In a recently published narrative review, researchers describe the mechanisms by which corticosteroids modulate the immune response, causing sepsis and allowing patients to recover. They also describe the other protective effects of corticosteroids and provide a framework to choose the appropriate course of treatment.

A new review in BMC Medicine explores how large language models (LLMs) can enhance the design and conduct of clinical trials, from protocol design and informed consent to patient recruitment, data management, safety monitoring, and outcome prediction. The authors highlight LLMs’ advantages over traditional natural language processing, including contextual understanding, few-shot learning, and multitask capability. While applications such as data mapping and real-time adverse event monitoring show early promise, challenges in data privacy, model transparency, and regulatory alignment must be addressed to ensure safe, effective integration into clinical research.

In International Journal of Extreme Manufacturing, a review summarizes the latest advances in high-quality testing methods for 2D materials and highlights the fundamental mechanisms behind their unique mechanical behaviors.

By outlining current challenges and future directions, this work provides valuable guidance for applying 2D materials in aerospace, flexible electronics, precision sensing, and integrated circuits.

In International Journal of Extreme Manufacturing, researchers at Trinity College Dublin have unveiled a novel inkless printing method that could transform the way functional materials and devices are manufactured. The technique, called Laser Ablation Dry Aerosol Printing (LADAP), generates nanoparticles directly from solid targets using pulsed laser ablation, and then focuses them aerodynamically to print metals and oxides without the need for solvent-based inks.

Imagine using one laser beam to 'write' instructions into a material and another to 'bend' it into a complex, functional shape—all on the spot, without moving a thing. Researchers at the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) have turned this concept into reality, developing a novel dual-laser method that creates adaptive, shape-locking devices in situ.

In the International Journal of Extreme Manufacturing, A novel conductive hydrogel, termed AirCell Hydrogel and developed by Tianjin University researchers, exhibits an ultra-high sensitivity of 18.9. Its smooth surface enables conformal adhesion that effectively suppresses motion artifacts, while its porous interior structure lowers the Young's modulus during deformation tracking.

A new review in International Journal of Extreme Manufacturing highlights the rapid progress in turning metallic materials into flexible electrodes (FEs) and, ultimately, soft epidermal electrodes (SEEs). Unlike the rigid metal pads traditionally used in medical monitoring, SEEs are engineered to mimic the softness and stretchability of skin itself. They conform like a second layer of tissue, remaining comfortable even during long wear and delivering stable, high-quality signals.