Modern medicine increasingly relies on targeted drug delivery - a process during which tiny particles (nanoparticles) transport drugs to specific parts of the body. To ensure these treatments are safe and effective, scientists need to understand exactly how these nanoparticles are built - including their size, shape, and internal structure.

In this study, an international team combined several advanced analysis techniques to investigate drug delivery nanoparticles in unprecedented detail. For the first time, they successfully coupled a particle separation method known as AF4 with small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) during an experiment performed on the D11 instrument at the Insitut Laue-Langevin (ILL).

This new approach allowed the researchers not only to measure the nanoparticles’ size and shape, but also to determine how these particles and drug molecules were organised internally. The work opens up new possibilities for using neutron scattering to study increasingly sophisticated drug delivery systems and could help support the development of safer and more effective treatments in the future.

JMIR Publications released a feature News and Perspectives story on AI fitness advice in its News and Perspectives section.

A Dartmouth study shows that where people look as they take in new environments could be as unique as a fingerprint and be used to identify them by the objects that have personal meaning. The researchers developed an AI model that correctly predicted where people would look first in unfamiliar settings based on how objects are thematically linked. The findings reveal how much we subjectively evaluate what's around us, while also suggesting that in a world of constant surveillance, we may be giving away more personal information than we realize.

Geological faults do not only move during earthquakes. Sometimes they slip silently, without generating noticeable shaking, releasing stress over hours or days. A research team led by Dr Zahra Zali (GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences), together with Prof. Patricia Martínez-Garzón (GFZ), Dr David Mencin (EarthScope), and Prof. Gregory C. Beroza (Stanford University), has uncovered a previously hidden population of so-called slow slip events beneath the Parkfield section of California’s San Andreas Fault. Using artificial intelligence and highly sensitive strainmeter observations, the researchers identified dozens of short-duration slow slip events and showed that these silent fault movements are systematically followed by increased low-frequency earthquake activity. The study has been published in Nature Communications.

Hong Kong currently has nearly 200,000 visually impaired people. Although white canes and guide dogs can assist with basic mobility, daily tasks such as shopping and taking public transport remain challenging for them. A research team at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has developed an innovative assistive system, “AI-Care”,which is driven by an advanced artificial intelligence (AI) model. Connecting smart glasses and a mobile application, the system proactively detects surrounding objects and provides voice guidanceto help visually impaired people handle daily tasks independently. The team has partnered with industry collaborator Hillming Smartech Ltd. (HSL) to advance commercialisation, and with the Hong Kong Society for the Blind (HKSB) to launch community trials, aiming to inject new momentum into building an inclusive smart city.