With the help of synchrotron X-rays, Swedish and Canadian researchers succeeded in taking a close look inside the human ear three-dimensionally. The study can provide an explanation for why it is so effective to treat deafness in people with cochlear implants (CI).

Researchers from Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, have created a new, rubber-like material with a unique set of properties, which could act as a replacement for human tissue in medical procedures. The material has the potential to make a big difference to many people's lives. The research was recently published in the highly regarded scientific journal ACS Nano.

Drop collision is integral to technology such as 3D printing and spray cooling of next-generation electronics. A discovery by researchers at the University of Warwick allows to make the design and engineering of future droplet technologies more precise and efficient.

For the first time, researchers managed to make intact human organs transparent. Using microscopic imaging they could reveal underlying complex structures of the see-through organs at the cellular level. Resulting organ maps can serve as templates for 3D-bioprinting technologies.

Researchers at Wageningen University & Research recently developed a 3D-printable composite that could point the way toward an entirely new world of printable smart materials.

Scientists from the University of Twente and the European Synchrotron Radiation Facilty (ESRF) discovered a new method to look deep inside a 3D nanostructure. Their ‘traceless X-ray tomography’ (TXT) can be used for photonics, electron chips and memories, for example.

The pollution of water, food and the environment by microparticles and especially micro- plastics is a growing concern. Therefore, efficient techniques for analyzing them in detail are urgently needed. A Raman microscopy system equipped with an advanced software package enables researchers to automatically find, classify and identify microparticles.

The University of Surrey and Unilever are developing the next generation of 3D reconstructed human skin to help test cosmetic products and drugs.

Understanding how tissues properly form and grow during the development of an organism is an important question in biology. Researchers were now able to show that elongated cells are the key to maintain the shape of the retinal tissue during growth of a zebrafish. This concept could also apply to other organisms.

Can weightlessness stop cancer from growing? One of the nine research projects that has been given the go-ahead for the new China Space Station scheduled for 2022 is designed to answer this exact question.