Hydrogels

Among other things, brain implants are capable of stimulating specific neurons, and of delivering medication to specific regions. An experimental new implant could overcome a common limitation of others, by transforming from rigid to soft states.

After open-heart surgery has been performed, the scar tissue that forms on the heart will sometimes stick to the tissue surrounding it. Such complications are known as adhesions, and a new hydrogel may help keep them from occurring.

Getting traditionally administered drugs into the brain can be challenging, due to the body's protective blood-brain barrier. There may be new hope, however, in the form of a patch that gets shoved up the patient's nose.

If you want to know how much water a plant is taking up, one of the best places to look is in its leaves. A new material known as AquaDust could help scientists more easily do so, without harming the plant.

Water scarcity is one of humanity’s most pressing problems. Now, engineers at Caltech have developed a system that can tap into two sources to produce drinking water, by purifying dirty water during the day and collecting droplets from fog overnight.

It's no secret that the more we use antibiotics, the greater the chances that bacteria will develop a resistance to them. A new antibacterial wound dressing is designed to get around that problem, by using proteins instead of regular antibiotics.

A newfound understanding around the intricate architecture of lobster underbellies has provided MIT engineers with a model for a tough and stretchy new hydrogel, which features great durability and resistance to tearing.

As anyone with arthritis will know, cartilage plays a vital role in allowing our joints to move freely. Scientists have now replicated its qualities in a synthetic self-lubricating material, that only needs occasional infusions of water.

In many parts of the world there may not be much precipitation, but there is a fair amount of water vapor in the air – particularly at night. An experimental new device draws in that vapor, then uses it to irrigate edible plants.

Once it's been injured, the protective cartilage in our knees and other joints heals very slowly – if at all. A new injectable gel, however, could both reinforce the tissue after it's been damaged, and encourage new cartilage to grow over top of it.

Scientists in Japan have developed a versatile new hydrogel that can be packed with cancer-fighting drugs and triggered to release their payload in response to temperature and pH changes in the tumor microenvironment.

Scientists in Spain have made a promising breakthrough in the field of regenerative medicine, developing a hydrogel that releases the chemical boron at the site of an injury to dramatically accelerate the formation of new muscle fibers.