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Injectable hydrogel relieves osteoarthritis pain and repairs cartilage in preclinical tests

Schematic illustration of the delivery routes and cartilage-protective mechanisms of LCM in osteoarthritis. Credit: Bioactive Materials (2026). DOI: 10.1016/j.bioactmat.2026.02.045

For millions of people living with osteoarthritis, daily life can involve a frustrating cycle of pain and stiffness. While current treatments like over-the-counter medications or steroid injections can temporarily dull the ache, they do not stop the joint from deteriorating. A Yale study published in the journal Bioactive Materials found that the medication lacosamide acts as a highly effective, dual-purpose treatment that relieves joint pain and reverses cartilage damage in osteoarthritis, especially when a specialized hydrogel delivers the drug directly into the joint.

Understanding osteoarthritis
Oste...

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A robot is helping an ailing couple stay in their home. Are more to come for an aging population?

A robot is helping an ailing couple stay in their home. Are more to come for an aging population?
A robot operated by a robotics engineer, rear, brings a drink to colleague during a demonstration at the University of New Hampshire, Tuesday, April 21, 2026, in Durham, N.H. Credit: AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty

After outliving Booker T. Bones, their second service dog, Brenda and Brian Marquis still needed help with some of the more difficult parts of daily life.

They found Robbie, a robot that rolls out of a hallway into their living room several times a day.

“Do you want to exercise now? Please answer yes or no,” the caregiver robot asks 59-year-old Brian Marquis, who has been living with a traumatic brain injury since a 2012 car crash.

“Yes,” he responds...

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How swarms of tiny light-controlled robots could revolutionize wound care

How swarms of tiny light-controlled robots could revolutionize wound care
Demonstration of algae swarming for tailored wound dressing. Credit: Science Advances (2026). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aed0994

Having a swarm of microbots moving across your body may sound like the stuff of a horror movie, but it could actually be the future of targeted drug delivery and advanced wound healing. Scientists have developed a way to use blue and red light as a remote control to assemble and disperse swarms of biohybrid microrobots that could one day transform how we treat injuries.

Details of the research are in a paper published in the journal Science Advances.

The microrobots come in two parts...

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Copper’s biggest rival yet? New carbon nanotube fibers could reshape wiring for EVs, drones and aircraft

IMDEA Materials researchers develop, for the first time, CNT fibres rivalling the electrical conductivity of copper
Conceptual view of an intercalated CNT fibre cable, showing how the intercalant occupies the interstitial spaces between highly aligned nanotubes within the fibre, yielding conductivity comparable to that of commercial metal cables. Credit: IMDEA Materials Institute

Spanish researchers have demonstrated a scalable manufacturing process for carbon nanotube (CNT) fibers with electrical conductivity comparable to that of copper and aluminum. The result, published in Science, is a breakthrough for the future of electrification in aerospace, electric vehicles (EVs), drones and related applications, which require lightweight and high-strength electrical wiring.

CNTs have long been considered as ideal building blocks for electrical conductors, owing to their unique combination of low densi...

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