Thamarasee Jeewandara

Platelet transfusions are essential in managing bleeding and hemostatic dysfunction, and can be expanded to be used as cell therapy for a variety of diseases. The efforts to create such cell therapies require that researchers modify donor platelets to express therapeutic proteins. However, at present, appropriate methods to genetically modify platelets collected from blood donors remain elusive.

Field-induced superconductivity occurs when an applied magnetic field increases or induces superconductivity. In a new report published in Science Advances, Joshua J. Sanchez and a team of scientists applied stress as a switch between a field tunable superconducting state and a robust non-field tunable state, to mark the first demonstration of a strain-tunable, superconducting spin valve with infinite magnetoresistance.

Three-dimensional (3D) printing has a significant role in membrane production for water purification and bio-separation, with capacity to create new and cleverly designed structures.

A new sandwich-structured composite has been developed from the surface layers of polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) and the interlayer of polylactic acid and cellulose microfibers. The biodegradable cellulose microfibers can be modified chemically with a sol-gel process to improve the compatibility between natural reinforcement and the polymer matrix.

Giant-impact driven redox processes in the atmosphere and magma ocean may have played crucial roles during the evolution of the Earth. However, the absence of rock records from the time or era makes it challenging to understand these processes.

Shape-memory polymers or shape-shifting materials are smart materials that have gained significant attention within materials science and biomedical engineering in recent years to build smart structures and devices. Digital light processing is a vat photopolymerization–based method with significantly faster technology to print a complete layer in a single step to create smart materials.

Strain-induced crystallization can strengthen, toughen, and facilitate an elastocaloric effect in elastomers. The resulting crystallinity can be induced by mechanical stretching in common elastomers that are typically below 20%, with a stretchability plateau.

Flat optics are made of nanostructures containing high-refractive index materials to produce lenses with thin form factors that function only at specific wavelengths.

The process of crystallization fouling is a phenomenon where scale forms on surfaces. It is widespread in nature and technology and affects the energy and water industries. Despite previous attempts, rationally designed surfaces with intrinsic resistance remain elusive due to a lack of understanding of how microfoulants adhere in dynamic aqueous environments.

Space coiling acoustic metamaterials are static and require manual reconfiguration for sound-field modulation. In a new report published in Communications Materials, Christabel Choi, and a team of scientists in computer science and engineering in the U.K., and Italy, developed an approach for active reconfiguration with standalone dynamics to space-coil unit cells known as dynamic meta-bricks.