In the International Journal of Extreme Manufacturing, Prof. Longqiu Li at Harbin Institute of Technology and his co-workers have developed an all-in-one printed metamaterial just 24 mm thick that carries immense weight, swallows microwave signals, and hushes low-frequency noise, eliminating the need for bulky, glued multi-layer structures.

Tufts-led team pursues promising new approach to preventing and fighting the bacterium that causes the tick-borne illness 

Scientists have long explored the idea of using insects as our agents in the field in places where humans won’t fit or survive. Imagine a cockroach in an earthquake zone, able to skitter into the rubble to map out exactly where human chemical signatures can be found; or a grasshopper leaping through a minefield to bring back a map of the bombs based on the vapors it encountered. Recent research from Washington University in St. Louis brings this sci-fi concept one step closer to reality.

Bay Area Lyme Foundation, a leading sponsor of Lyme disease research in the US, today announced the opening of applications for the 2027 Emerging Leader Awards (ELA), which recognize researchers identifying innovative approaches to solve the challenges of Lyme and tick-borne illnesses. These awards provide funding and mentorship for scientists at the postdoctoral level through associate professor level who seek to advance novel methodologies that could change the future of diagnosis and treatment of Lyme and tick‑borne diseases.

Researchers have used genome-wide DNA data to identify a new insect species on the Ogasawara Islands, a remote Japanese archipelago roughly 900 to 1,000 kilometres south of Tokyo. The findings suggest that evolution among island insects is more intricate than appearances imply. The study is published in the open-access journal ZooKeys.

Signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) proteins function as key mediators of cytokine signaling and are critically involved in stem cell regulation, tissue regeneration, and immune responses in vertebrates. However, their roles in invertebrate regeneration, particularly in adult pluripotent stem cell systems like those of planarians, remain largely unexplored. In this study, we investigated the function of Djstat5, a STAT5 homolog in the planarian Dugesia japonica, and demonstrated that it is dynamically upregulated during the early regenerative phases. RNA interference (RNAi)-mediated knockdown of Djstat5 resulted in severe defects in tissue regeneration, including blastema hypoplasia, reduced mitotic activity, and diminished apoptosis. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that Djstat5 knockdown led to upregulation of Djnlrc3, a putative negative regulator of regeneration. Functional interaction between Djstat5 and Djnlrc3 was further supported by double RNAi experiments, which showed that co-knockdown of Djnlrc3 significantly rescued the regeneration defects induced by Djstat5 loss. Together, our findings establish Djstat5 as an essential regulator of planarian regeneration and provide new insights into conserved STAT-mediated signaling pathways in adult stem cell-based tissue regeneration.

A research team has developed a virus-based tool that lets scientists temporarily reduce gene activity in cowpea and investigate what those genes do. The system produced long-lasting gene silencing across seven genetically diverse varieties and helped reveal how four related genes influence defense hormone accumulation after insect attack. 

A bioinspired bead-on-string Ag/AgCl heterostructure for stable ion-electron transduction in stretchable dry electrodes is developed, opening a route to long-term, high-fidelity wearable electrophysiological monitoring and personalized hands-free human-machine interaction.