May 22nd 2025

Author

Max Gray
May 22, 2025

The Daily Innovation Newsletter

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May 22nd 2025

💻 Technology

Google has rebranded its 3D videoconferencing concept, Project Starline, as "Beam" and plans to deliver it to select businesses later this year. Using AI, light-field displays, and precision head-tracking, Beam enables ultra-realistic, full-size 3D video chats without headsets or glasses. In partnership with HP and other global integrators, this immersive platform aims to revolutionize high-level remote collaboration and could expand into education and telemedicine.

⚡️ Energy

Scientists from the Technical University of Munich, Max Planck Institute, and University of Stuttgart have developed a solar battery made entirely from organic materials that absorbs sunlight and stores energy for over two days. Using a porous covalent organic framework and water, the device combines solar harvesting and long-term energy storage without metals or rare elements, offering a sustainable solution for off-grid power. Published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, the battery retains over 90% capacity after repeated use, surpassing many existing materials.

Scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have created a low-cost metamaterial that uses sound waves to push, pull, and rotate submerged objects without physical contact. By shaping the material with a sawtooth pattern, they can precisely control movement in three dimensions, opening new possibilities for underwater robotics and non-invasive medical procedures. This breakthrough in acoustic manipulation could transform how we interact with objects in water and within the human body.

🌎 Sustainability

Scientists from Austria and Slovenia have created a bioactive building coating—dubbed “living tattoos”—that uses microbial inks to turn city walls into pollution-fighting, self-repairing surfaces. Developed through the REMEDY project, these inkjet-printable coatings host engineered microbial communities that can absorb CO₂, filter pollutants, and resist environmental damage. This innovation could transform over 9 billion square meters of urban surfaces across the EU, merging architecture with synthetic biology for sustainable cities.

💊 Healthcare

Scientists at the University of Nottingham have developed a rapid DNA test using nanopore sequencing that identifies brain tumor types in as little as two hours, a massive reduction from the typical eight-week wait. By reading tumor DNA during or shortly after surgery and matching it to a tumor database, the test provides accurate results fast enough to influence surgical decisions and treatment planning. Published in Neuro-Oncology, this breakthrough could improve patient outcomes and accelerate access to clinical trials.

A team from the University of Nottingham has demonstrated that a special type of MRI scan can reliably diagnose multiple sclerosis (MS) in just eight minutes, eliminating the need for invasive and often painful lumbar punctures. Using a T2*-weighted MRI and a diagnostic approach called the "rule of six"—which identifies MS-specific brain lesions—the method proved accurate in a multi-center prospective study and is now endorsed by the International Committee for the diagnosis of MS. Published in Neurology Open Access, the innovation is expected to reduce patient discomfort, speed up diagnoses by up to three months, and save the NHS millions annually.

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See you soon,

Max

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