Researchers from Mass General Brigham and the Mass General Brigham Gene and Cell Therapy Institute – a hub of innovation dedicated to accelerating groundbreaking research, conducting clinical trials and developing FDA-approved treatments in gene and cell therapy – will present new data at the 2025 American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ASGCT) Annual Meeting, taking place May 13-17 in New Orleans.

Simple and inexpensive interventions aimed at making changes in how Bangladesh’s informal brink kilns operate could dramatically cut emissions and boost profits for producers, according to a new study. The findings may offer a scalable model for tackling pollution in hard-to-regulate informal industries, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). In many LMICs, weak regulatory systems limit the effectiveness of pollution control, especially in informal industries that tend to operate outside formal governance and tax systems. Instead of top-down regulation, interventions aimed at improving energy efficiency in these industries offer a promising strategy to reduce emissions while also enhancing productivity. However, few studies have explored the potential of these interventions in LMICs. In Bangladesh, most brick manufacturing occurs in informal, coal-fired “zigzag” kilns, which are a major source of emissions and air pollution in the region. Regulation of these operations has been challenging due to inadequate enforcement and corruption. To curb pollution from brick manufacturing, attempts have been made to promote the adoption of more advanced and expensive technologies. However, despite considerable investments in the effort, there has been limited uptake among producers. Moreover, the performance of these more advanced technologies has often failed to outperform traditional kilns, revealing a disconnect between technological promise and on-the-ground realities.

 

In this study, Nina Brooks and colleagues developed and tested a practical intervention to improve the environmental and economic performance of zigzag kilns in Bangladesh. Rather than relying on costly equipment or government enforcement, Brooks et al.’s approach focused on simple yet impactful changes to kiln operation – such as more efficient fuel feeding and brick stacking – that require no capital investment but can significantly cut emissions and improve profitability. In a randomized controlled trial involving 276 zigzag kilns, Brooks et al. show that roughly 65% of kiln operators who received training and technical support interventions adopted new practices. This led to a 10-11% reduction in energy use and an 8.8% reduction in carbon dioxide and fine particulate air pollution emissions. According to the authors, the benefits of the interventions outweigh the costs by a factor of 65 to 1. Moreover, the intervention, which required no new capital investment, also decreased fuel costs and increased brick quality, demonstrating that visible, short-term economic gains can drive enthusiastic uptake of energy-efficient practices.

A new ultrasound-guided 3D printing technique could make it possible to fabricate medical implants in vivo and deliver tailored therapies to tissues deep inside the body – all without invasive surgery, researchers report. 3D bioprinting technologies offer significant promise to modern medicine by enabling the creation of customized implants, intricate medical devices, and engineered tissues tailored to individual patients. However, most current approaches require invasive surgical implantation. Although in vivo bioprinting – “3D printing” tissue directly within the body – offers a less invasive alternative, it has been limited by challenges like poor tissue penetration depth, a narrow range of biocompatible bioinks, and the need for printing systems that operate at high resolution with precise, real-time control. To address these barriers, Elham Davoodi and colleagues developed a novel imaging-guided platform called Imaging-Guided Deep Tissue In Vivo Sound Printing (DISP), which uses focused ultrasound and ultrasound-responsive bioinks to precisely fabricate biomaterials directly within the body. These bioinks, or US-inks, combine biopolymers, imaging contrast agents, and temperature-sensitive liposomes carrying crosslinking agents and can be delivered to targeted tissue sites deep within the body via injection or catheter. A focused ultrasound transducer, guided by automated positioning and a predefined digital blueprint, triggers localized low-temperature heating (slightly above body temperature) that releases the crosslinker, initiating immediate in situ gel formation. Moreover, the bioinks and their resulting gels can be tailored for various functions, including conductivity, localized drug delivery, and tissue adhesion, as well as real-time imaging capabilities. Davoodi et al. validated DISP by successfully printing drug-loaded and functional biomaterials near cancerous sites in a mouse bladder and deep within rabbit muscle tissue, demonstrating potential applications for drug delivery, tissue regeneration, and bioelectronics. Further biocompatibility tests revealed no signs of tissue damage or inflammation, and the body cleared unpolymerized US-ink within a week, illustrating the platform's safety. “Although Davoodi et al. advanced ultrasound 3D printing toward clinical translation, additional refinements are needed to implement the technology for clinical use,” writes Xiao Kuang in a related Perspective. “A detailed relationship between process conditions, the structure of the printed material, and the resulting properties must be elucidated through careful testing.”

Using only airflow and simple physical design – resulting in a structure that looks like a roadside “inflatable tube dancer” – researchers have developed soft robots that achieve coordinated, autonomous movement without relying on complex electronic controllers. In nature, animals often move with remarkable efficiency. They do this by seamlessly integrating the nervous system, body mechanics, and environmental interactions. This decentralized coordination allows animals to move efficiently without relying on constant direction from the brain. In contrast, most robots depend heavily on centralized processors to orchestrate their movements. While rigid and soft robots can exploit body dynamics or shape changes to move and avoid obstacles, many remain limited in adaptability due to a lack of limbs or reliance on slow, sequential control mechanisms. Moreover, their bulky, analog-like design introduces energy inefficiencies and slow response times, limiting their practicality and autonomous capabilities in complex environments. To achieve rapid movement without relying on a central processor, Alberto Comoretto and colleagues developed a self-oscillating robotic limb powered only by a continuous stream of air. The limb consists of a bent silicone tube, which – without airflow – remains in stable, kinked positions. However, when steady airflow is introduced, it spontaneously oscillates between kinked states, performing rapid stepping motions at frequencies reaching 300 hertz. This motion arises from a feedback loop between pressure, kink formation, and tube resistance – akin to a mechanical “heartbeat.” By physically linking multiple limbs and exploiting environmental feedback, Comoretto et al. achieved synchronized gaits without any electronic control, enabling the robots to move at speeds exceeding those of comparable soft robots. They could also amphibiously enter and move in water through an automatic change in gait. For interested reporters, the authors have provided a number of videos illustrating the robotic platform’s capabilities.