A new study from a research team at the Centre for Wireless Communications Network and Systems (CWC-NS) at the University of Oulu has introduced an approach using near-infrared (NIR) light beyond light therapy for facilitating simultaneous wireless power transfer and communication to electronic implantable medical devices (IMDs). Previously, the research team demonstrated that NIR light for wireless communication is feasible, and now the team made progress by involving wireless charging capabilities using the same light.

 

Featured in Optics Continuum, the research outlines an approach that promises to enhance the performance and durability of IMDs while providing more secure, safer, more private, and radio interference-free communication. The published paper, authored by Syifaul Fuada, Mariella Särestöniemi, and Marcos Katz at the CWC-NS, has demonstrated research merit as it was designated an Editor's Pick, highlighting articles of excellent scientific quality and representing the work occurring in a specific field.  The paper is a part of Syifaul Fuada's doctoral research, which is funded by Infotech, University of Oulu, Finland.

Visible light can be used to create electrodes from conductive plastics completely without hazardous chemicals. This is shown in a new study carried out by researchers at Linköping and Lund universities, Sweden. The electrodes can be created on different types of surfaces, which opens up for a new type of electronics and medical sensors.

Osaka Metropolitan University researchers enhanced Saccharomyces cerevisiae to increase its tolerance for high 2,3-butanediol concentrations. This was achieved by introducing mutations into the genomic DNA and successfully obtaining a mutant strain that proliferates 122 times more than the parent strain.

Cold stress severely restricts crop productivity, yet the molecular mechanisms that coordinate transcriptional and oxidative responses remain poorly understood. This study uncovers a key regulatory module in which the E3 ubiquitin ligase VaMIEL1 controls the stability of the cold-responsive transcription factor VaMYB4a. Under normal conditions, VaMIEL1 promotes VaMYB4a degradation, restricting activation of the CBF–COR cold-response pathway. Cold exposure suppresses VaMIEL1, allowing VaMYB4a to accumulate and enhance both cold-responsive gene expression and antioxidant activity. Functional assays in Arabidopsis and grapevine calli demonstrate that VaMIEL1 overexpression weakens cold tolerance, while its silencing improves stress resistance. The discovery reveals an integrated transcriptional–redox mechanism critical for developing cold-resilient grape cultivars.