With rising risk to the environment and human health, the race for biodegradable plastics is gaining pace – with several projects under way at Flinders University in South Australia.

Published in Polymers, one of the latest experiments finds researchers combining calcium caseinate – a commercially available derivative of casein, the main protein in milk – with modified starch and bentonite nanoclay into a thin film, adding glycerol and polyvinyl alcohol to improve its strength and plasticity.

Recently, Prof. Jian LU's team (City University of Hong Kong, CityU HK) has engineered breakthrough 3D-printed artificial bone scaffolds. These superelastic scaffolds achieve a high recoverable strain (6% – 7%) and feature on-demand tuning of modulus, strength, permeability, and more. This advancement enables site-specific adaptive solutions for complex bone defects while offering valuable inspirations for multifunctional metamaterials across engineering fields.

Flexible electronic skin (E-skin) sensors offer innovative solutions for detecting human body signals, enabling human–machine interactions and advancing the development of intelligent robotics. Electrospun nanofibers are particularly well-suited for E-skin applications due to their exceptional mechanical properties, tunable breathability, and lightweight nature. Nanofiber-based composite materials consist of three-dimensional structures that integrate one-dimensional polymer nanofibers with other functional materials, enabling efficient signal conversion and positioning them as an ideal platform for next-generation intelligent electronics. Here, this review begins with an overview of electrospinning technology, including far-field electrospinning, near-field electrospinning, and melt electrospinning. It also discusses the diverse morphologies of electrospun nanofibers, such as core–shell, porous, hollow, bead, Janus, and ribbon structure, as well as strategies for incorporating functional materials to enhance nanofiber performance. Following this, the article provides a detailed introduction to electrospun nanofiber-based composite materials (i.e., nanofiber/hydrogel, nanofiber/aerogel, nanofiber/metal), emphasizing their recent advancements in monitoring physical, physiological, body fluid, and multi-signal in human signal detection. Meanwhile, the review explores the development of multimodal sensors capable of responding to diverse stimuli, focusing on innovative strategies for decoupling multiple signals and their state-of-the-art advancements. Finally, current challenges are analyzed, while future prospects for electrospun nanofiber-based composite sensors are outlined. This review aims to advance the design and application of next-generation flexible electronics, fostering breakthroughs in multifunctional sensing and health monitoring technologies.

AI Predicts More "Super Floods" and "Extreme Droughts" for Pakistan.

Published in Nature Electronics, Carnegie Mellon University has introduced flexible wearables to augment human senses in both the real and virtual world. 

Engineers at Duke University have developed a wireless patch that can non-invasively measure skin and tissue stiffness at depths of up to a couple of inches. Already smaller than a smartwatch, the device could be a gateway into a wide array of medical applications such as the monitoring of wound healing, chronic conditions like skin cancer, fluid management during resuscitation efforts and muscle rehabilitation.