Comment

Disabled scientists are under-represented in STEM and face additional barriers at all career stages. The DisabledInSTEM mentoring programme provides support, an opportunity to learn from others and a sense of community to empower disabled scientists and help them succeed in their careers.

Interdisciplinary strategies bridging oncology, neuroscience, bioelectronics and materials science will facilitate the development of next-generation therapies and devices for cancers of the central nervous system.

The increasing popularity of electric vehicles as an alternative to internal combustion engine vehicles brings new realities, challenges and opportunities for scientists and engineers. A key element of this transition will be to develop solutions for lubrication, thermal management, electrical compatibility and corrosion inhibition. Two-dimensional materials are well poised to address these challenges and enhance the performance, efficiency, durability and, hence, sustainability of electric vehicles during this century and beyond.

Light-emitting perovskite solar cells are emerging optoelectronic devices that integrate light-emitting and electricity-generating functions in one device. This type of device unlocks new possibilities for applications as outdoor light sources, in multifunctional architecture, smart automobiles, self-powered displays and portable power floodlights.

India’s commitment to its ambitious technology goals brings a unique opportunity for the materials science community in the country to achieve synergy, focus, large-scale employment and global impact. However, scientists need to engage more spontaneously in goal-oriented collaborations along with stakeholders in industry and government.

As new materials and manufacturing techniques are discovered, their benefits transform every branch of science and engineering. In spacecraft propulsion, a new generation of ion engines could provide unprecedented performance and flexibility in space mission design.

Nanoparticles (NPs) administered in the human body will undergo rapid surface modification upon contact with biological fluids driven by their interfacial interaction with a diverse range of biomolecules. Such spontaneous self-assembly and adsorption of proteins and other biomolecules onto the NP surface constitute what is commonly known as the protein or biomolecule corona. This surface biotransformation of the NPs modulates their biological interactions and impact on physiological systems and can influence their overall pharmacological profile. Here, we comment on how the initially considered ‘nuisance’ of the in vivo corona formation can now be considered a nanoparticle engineering tool for biomedical use, such as in endogenous tissue targeting, personalized biomarker discovery and immunomodulation.

Solar photovoltaics has tremendous potential to address current gaps in electricity access for resource-challenged settings, such as sub-Saharan Africa. However, a rapid surge in installations and future growth will lead to an increase in waste from panels and batteries, which needs to be tackled urgently. Innovative technical solutions and improved policies and standards are required to address end-of-life challenges for solar photovoltaics in sub-Saharan Africa.

Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) lacks sufficient haptic feedback to the surgeon due to the length and flexibility of surgical tools. This haptic disconnect is exacerbated in robotic-MIS, which utilizes tele-operation to control surgical tools. Tactile sensation in MIS and robotic-MIS can be restored in a safe and conformable manner through soft sensors and soft haptic feedback devices.

The production of conventional meat contributes to climate change and uses up around 70% of available arable land. Cultured meat is emerging as a potential solution, but presently can be only produced at the pilot scale. Biofabrication technologies developed for biomedical applications could be leveraged to introduce automation and standardization in the production of cultured meat, accelerating its path to market.

Biochar is proposed as a promising solution for sustainable development, but proper risk management and careful evaluation are essential when considering its use. It is crucial to acknowledge the limitations of biochar and recognize that it is not a magic bullet for green technologies.

Higher education and research institutions are critical to the well-being and success of societies, meaning their financial support is strongly in the public interest. At the same time, value-for-money principles demand that such investment delivers. Unfortunately, these principles are currently violated by one of the biggest sources of public funding inefficiency: sexism.

3D printing can be used to automate the manufacturing of building elements for large-scale structures such as skyscrapers, aircraft, rockets and space bases without human intervention. However, challenges in materials, processes, printers and software control must first be overcome for large-scale 3D printing to be adopted for widespread applications.

This Comment discusses metal–organic frameworks and their progress towards translation in a health-care setting. We explore their prospects in clinical applications, why translation seems slow, and what opportunities and obstacles await as they move towards the clinic.

Sorption working pairs, which can convert low-grade heat into cold energy or seasonally store thermal energy, are potential future carbon-neutral materials for thermal management. This Comment highlights the superiorities of metal–organic framework (MOF)–ammonia working pairs for adaptable thermal management under extreme climates and discusses strategies to design MOFs with high stability and ammonia sorption capacity.

Nature provides an endless source of inspiration for advanced materials, fuelled by evolutionary innovations over many millions of years. Capitalizing on this wealth of biological solutions requires an approach to materials innovation that is informed by a holistic understanding of multi-functional biological systems and leverages the defining feature of the natural world — diversity.

Active learning and automation will not easily liberate humans from laboratory workflows. Before they can really impact materials research, artificial intelligence systems will need to be carefully set up to ensure their robust operation and their ability to deal with both epistemic and stochastic errors. As autonomous experiments become more widely available, it is essential to think about how to embed reproducibility, reconfigurability and interoperability in the design of autonomous labs.

Today’s world is filled with ‘grand challenges’ that cannot be solved with knowledge from a single academic field, and interdisciplinary learning opportunities at the undergraduate level are important to overcome barriers between fields. This article takes some of the lessons learned from the co-development and co-teaching of an interdisciplinary course on climate change at the University of Waterloo in Canada to offer suggestions on how to incorporate interdisciplinary education in the materials science and engineering undergraduate curriculum, while providing practical advice on how to create opportunities for students to become interdisciplinary thinkers.

The translation of soft biomedical devices from academia to commercialization remains limited despite the substantial growth of the field over the past decade. To drive the next stage of innovation, it is crucial to identify applications that can be uniquely addressed by soft devices. Neurological surgery presents numerous opportunities for harnessing the potential of soft devices in medical applications.

The Palestinian–German Science Bridge (PGSB) is a science diplomacy pilot project financed by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research and implemented jointly by Forschungszentrum Jülich and the Palestinian Academy for Science and Technology. Its goal, as its founder and its project coordinator discuss in this Comment, is to develop joint research and education programmes.