🧬 Researchers led by Nako Nakatsuka of the @EPFL Laboratory of Chemical Nanotechnology (CHEMINA) have reimagined how aptamers – short DNA strands used in molecular sensors – detect their targets. Their versatile sensing method could enable the development of rapid lateral-flow tests, like those used in home pregnancy and Covid tests, for small molecules like hormones and neurotransmitters.
Read more about this work, now published in Nature Chemistry 🔗https://actu.epfl.ch/news/a-new-sensing-architecture-to-detect-small-molec-2/

Researchers at @EPFL and the The University of Manchester have uncovered how tiny blisters inside nanoscale channels allow artificial synapses to store information, offering new insights into the development of brain-inspired computing technologies. 🔗 Read the full study, now published in Nature Materials: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41563-026-02775-4

Researchers in the @EPFL Integrated Neurotechnologies Lab, led by Mahsa Shoaran, have developed a low-power, implantable neural system-on-chip that tracks communication across brain regions, identifying cognitive and emotional states in real time. Read our news about this work, now published the IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits: https://actu.epfl.ch/news/neural-chip-decodes-interactions-between-brain-r-2/

📣 Registration is now open for the 2027 edition of E3: EPFL Excellence in Engineering Program !

The E3 program offers a unique and intensive research training opportunity to Bachelor and Master students in many fields of engineering, science, and technology. Selected students will be matched with a laboratory based on their interests and background, and will join a research group for 8 to 12 weeks during the summer months. 🔗 https://actu.epfl.ch/news/apply-to-the-e3-epfl-excellence-in-engineering-p-6/

The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research has awarded $12 million across four Endeavor Grants to support cross-disciplinary cancer research. One grant has been awarded to a multi-institutional team including School of Engineering professor Bruno Correia. https://actu.epfl.ch/news/a-3-million-endeavor-grant-for-cross-disciplinary/

Researchers in the @EPFL Laboratory of Intelligent Systems have developed fully biodegradable and edible fluidic logic circuits. The work notably provides a foundation for computation and control in future edible #robots for medical and environmental applications! Read the full article in Advanced Materials Technologies 🔗 https://advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/admt.71326

Researchers from the @EPFL Bionanophotonic Systems Lab have developed ultra-thin silicon #metasurfaces that can tune their interaction with light in real time, overcoming a major #photonics challenge. Read our news about this work, now published in Nature Communications 🔗 https://actu.epfl.ch/news/a-new-way-to-control-infrared-light-in-real-time/

🔬 🧬 A new fluorescence microscopy technique developed in the @EPFL Laboratory of Nanoscale Biology could help researchers study rapid movements within cells by generating super-resolution images from a single camera exposure. 🔗 https://actu.epfl.ch/news/super-resolution-imaging-reveals-details-inside-li/

Researchers at @EPFL and New York University have developed a robotic fish that can be made in various sizes for studying shallow creeks to open water. The innovation could cut the engineering effort needed to build fish-like #robots for different environments, as well as give researchers a platform for studying how swimming performance changes with scale! Read our news 🔗 https://actu.epfl.ch/news/small-medium-or-large-a-robotic-fish-maintains-its/

We are proud to share that School of Engineering senior scientist Elena Vagnoni, Academic Director of EPFL's Technology Platform for Hydraulic Machines, has received a European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grant! 🔗 https://actu.epfl.ch/news/elena-vagnoni-wins-erc-starting-grant/

The @EPFL POWERlab has introduced a new class of gallium nitride transistor that can withstand more than 5 times the voltage of commercial GaN power devices.

The transistor's innovative design, which exploits a natural polarization effect unique to GaN, could enable robust, efficient, high-voltage power electronics at much more compact scales.

Read more about this work, now published in Nature Electronics: https://actu.epfl.ch/news/new-transistor-brings-high-voltage-to-microchip-sc/

🤖 🌎 #Robots are often promoted for their increasing intelligence and autonomy. Yet a growing body of research at @EPFL suggests that a robot's contribution to #sustainability goals may be an equally important measure of success.

Read more about Sustainability Robotics, a new discipline proposed by professor Mirko Kovac and co-authors, and what sets it apart from sustainable robotics 🔗https://actu.epfl.ch/news/reimagining-robotics-for-sustainability/

@EPFL researchers have harnessed a physics phenomenon called Helmholtz resonance to design acoustic cavities that convert sound waves into directional thrust and controlled motion. They have built small, sound-powered robots and ultralight aerial vehicles that can propel themselves without on-board actuators or electronics. Read more about this work, now published in Science Advances: https://lnkd.in/e9xJwFis

@EPFL professor Yujia Zhang has co-authored a comprehensive review of #bioiontronics: an emerging interdisciplinary field that aims to develop systems that communicate with living matter using the same ‘language' as cells. Published in Nature Reviews Bioengineering, the article highlights bioiontronic prototypes, surveys recent breakthroughs in materials and device design, and discusses key challenges to widespread clinical adoption of bioiontronic systems. 🔗 https://www.nature.com/articles/s44222-026-00471-1

Researchers in the Hybrid Photonics Lab have introduced a semiconductor #laser that uses an electro-optic metasurface as an external mirror, enabling rapid and precise wavelength and intensity control without moving parts. The work establishes electro-optic #metasurfaces as a powerful route toward compact, high-speed tunable lasers for free-space #communications, ranging, and high-resolution #spectroscopy. Our news 🔗 https://actu.epfl.ch/news/a-tiny-tunable-laser-with-no-moving-parts/

@EPFL engineers have discovered that a soft material originally optimized for #3Dprinting may solve a longstanding challenge in #materials science: making 3D printable elastomers both tough and durable. Our news 🔗 https://actu.epfl.ch/news/3d-printable-elastic-polymer-proves-surprisingly-s/

Now on the cover of Science: An aerial-aquatic vehicle developed at @EPFL and MIT could lead to a new class of devices for ocean exploration. Read more: https://actu.epfl.ch/news/a-flapping-robot-swims-and-flies-like-a-diving-b-2/

Researchers from @EPFL and the Paul Scherrer Institute have used a new imaging technique called small-angle X-ray scattering tensor tomography (SAXS-TT) to examine the femoral neck - the narrow section of bone directly below the hip joint. Their analysis reveals new insights into how structural factors besides bone density can impact the stability of these bones as people age. Read more about this work, now published in Advanced Science: https://actu.epfl.ch/news/nano-insights-into-bone-stability/

Although electricity-hungry data centers are often seen as a growing energy burden, a new study led by the group of Industrial Process and Energy Systems Engineering at EPFL suggests that they could also help Europe cut #carbon #emissions by integrating #renewable power and reducing energy waste 🔗 https://actu.epfl.ch/news/flexible-data-centers-could-support-europe-s-net-z/

A new advancement in mid-infrared imaging spectroscopy from the @EPFL Bionanophotonic Systems Laboratory enables rapid acquisition of enhanced molecular absorption fingerprints -- without any laser scanning or mechanically moving parts. 📖 Read the full paper, now published in Nature Communications: 🔗 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-71611-9