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April 14^th 2025

💻 Technology

🇺🇸 US researchers develop microneedle brain sensor as noninvasive alternative to implants and bulky wearables

Scientists at Georgia Tech have created a flexible, nanoscale brain sensor that uses tiny microneedles to lightly penetrate the skin and detect neural signals with 96.4% accuracy - without requiring conductive gels or invasive implants. Published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the wireless device offers a discreet, comfortable way to control AR devices or prosthetics, making it a promising alternative to existing brain-computer interface technologies.

🌎 Sustainability

🇦🇺 Australian scientists convert sewage into bio-oil, offering clean alternative to petroleum products

RMIT researchers have developed PYROCO™, a technology that converts sewage biosolids into biochar, which acts as a low-cost catalyst for producing phenol-rich bio-oils from plant material. Published in Renewable Energy, the process offers a sustainable alternative to petroleum-based oils used in electronics, construction, and automotive industries, while also destroying up to 99.99% of PFAS. A full-scale commercial plant is set to launch with $11 million in funding to advance circular economy goals.

🇺🇦 Ukrainian startup develops world’s first fully sustainable battery from farm waste with 30-year life and zero fire risk

Ukrainian startup SorbiForce has created the world’s first fully sustainable battery using carbon, water, salt, and agricultural waste—completely avoiding metals or toxic materials. The sorption-based battery lasts over 6,000 charge cycles, poses no explosion or leakage risks, and is 95% recyclable. With a projected 30-year lifespan, this innovation could revolutionize energy storage by providing a safer, circular alternative to lithium-ion batteries.

💉 Biotechnology

🇺🇸 US scientists create bacteria that signal soil conditions to drones using infrared light

MIT researchers have developed genetically engineered bacteria that emit visible and infrared light when detecting specific soil nutrients or pollutants. These light signals, called hyperspectral fingerprints, can be read from up to 295 feet away by drones equipped with hyperspectral cameras, enabling remote, scalable soil monitoring. Published in Nature Biotechnology, the breakthrough by MIT’s Synthetic Biology Center could transform precision agriculture and environmental sensing by allowing aerial tracking of microbial biosensors in real-time.

🇯🇵 Japanese researchers discover new plant tissue that boosts crop yields by up to 16.5%

Scientists at Nagoya University have identified a previously unknown plant tissue—shaped like a rabbit—that regulates nutrient flow after fertilization. Named the "Kasahara Gateway," this structure opens only when fertilization succeeds, preventing wasted resources on unviable seeds. Published in Current Biology, the discovery enabled researchers to genetically keep the gateway open, resulting in significantly larger seeds in rice and other crops, offering major potential for increasing global food production.

💊 Healthcare

🇺🇸 US researchers develop ultra-sensitive blood test method for tracking cancer recurrence

Scientists at Weill Cornell Medicine and the New York Genome Center have created an error-corrected, whole-genome sequencing method that detects tumor DNA in blood with unprecedented sensitivity—down to parts per million. Published in Nature Methods, the approach uses a low-cost sequencing platform combined with DNA error-correction to accurately monitor cancer status post-treatment without needing tumor tissue samples. This breakthrough could pave the way for routine, non-invasive cancer monitoring and early detection using blood tests alone.

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