A study involving the Department of Physics and the Center for Theoretical and Computational Physics at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon was recently published in Nature Physics. The discovery could have an impact in various fields, with applications in areas from healthcare—by improving the understanding of oncological diseases—to robotics, enabling more precise robot navigation.

Environmental conditions can cause damaging stress to plants, posing challenges for home gardeners and farmers. Therefore, early detection — before leaves visibly discolor, wilt or wither — is crucial. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Sensors have created a wearable patch for plants that quickly senses stress and relays the information to a grower. The electrochemical sensor attaches directly to live plant leaves and monitors hydrogen peroxide, a key distress signal.

The invasive Pacific oyster have adapted to life in less salty seas and are reproducing off the coast of Skåne, although having been there for less than ten years. This discovery by researchers from the University of Gothenburg suggests that the oysters could colonise the western Baltic Sea in the future.