In the high-altitude and extremely remote region of Dolpo in north-west Nepal, there are numerous Buddhist temples whose history dates back to the 11th century. The structures are threatened by earthquakes, landslides and planned infrastructure projects such as the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative. There is also a lack of financial resources for long-term maintenance. Researchers from the Institute of Architectural Theory, History of Art and Cultural Studies and the Institute of Engineering Geodesy and Measurement Systems at Graz University of Technology (TU Graz) want to prevent the loss of this cultural heritage, which has hardly been researched up to now. With the support of the Austrian Science Fund FWF, they have documented, analysed and measured buildings as part of several expeditions and preserved some of the temple complexes as 3D computer models – and could thus also have contributed to the preservation of the real buildings. The results have now been published in the journal Heritage.

Creating new knowledge

“Written and pictorial sources about the temples in Dolpo are rare, so the buildings themselves usually provide the most reliable information on their history. With our research, we wanted to create new knowledge about the sacred architecture of the region and categorise the existing buildings in their historical and art-historical context,” says Carmen Auer from the Institute of Architectural Theory, History of Art and Cultural Studies. Together with her team, she has been carrying out research on the regions of the western Himalayas since the early 2000s as part of various Austrian Science Fund projects and collaborations. “Our research results are publicly accessible to everyone. They also provide a basis for possible renovations of the temple complexes and raise awareness of the value of this cultural heritage in the region and beyond. This increased attention will hopefully also help to ensure that more funds are made available for the maintenance of the facilities.”

Adapted measurement methods

Due to the remoteness of Dolpo and the high deployment altitudes, intensive preparatory work on suitable surveying methods was necessary. The area is only accessible on foot and with pack animals, so the weight of the instruments had to be kept to a minimum. In addition, there is hardly any electricity or internet in the region, which is why the researchers had to resort to solar panels and batteries and adapt the software used so that it could function without contact to the manufacturer’s server.

Helmut Woschitz and Peter Bauer from the Institute of Engineering Geodesy and Measurement Systems used a 3D surveying technique involving a laser scanner, a surveying total station, a mini-drone and a DSLR camera. Fundamental investigations in the geodetic measurement laboratory at TU Graz contributed significantly to the further development of the instruments and measurement methods. The chosen equipment made it possible to record inscriptions, sculptures and wall and ceiling paintings in addition to the building fabric. Using the data obtained in this way, the research team created 3D models and 2D plans (site plans, floor plans, sections, views) that provide insights into the building structure, for example of the Nesar Temple: https://igms.3dworld.tugraz.at/HomepageBijer.html.

18 Buddhist sites documented so far

During four research visits between 2018 and 2023, the TU Graz research team included a total of 18 Buddhist sites in the documentation, of which 16 assemblies have already been surveyed and analysed. “They are part of a sacred landscape that has developed over centuries. The choice of location, the type of building and the orientation of the buildings are shaped by traditional narratives, geographical conditions and symbolic representations,” explains Carmen Auer. In order to understand these processes, an open dialogue with the local population, comprehensive documentation and interdisciplinary cooperation were necessary.

For the future there are plans to explore the northernmost region of Dolpo around Yangtze Monastery near the border with Tibet, where many buildings have not yet been documented.

Media Contact

Philipp Jarke
Graz University of Technology
philipp.jarke@tugraz.at
Office: +43 316 873 4566

Expert Contact

Carmen AUER
Graz University of Technology | Institute of Architectural Theory, History of Art and Cultural Studies
carmen.auer@tugraz.at
Office: +43 316 873 6278

Frequently Asked Questions

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Each flower’s DNA acts like a tiny computer program, telling it how to move and react to the world around it. When the environment changes, such as when acidity rises or falls, the flower can open, close, or trigger a chemical reaction. That means these DNA-based robots could one day perform tasks on their own, from delivering medicine to cleaning up pollution.

“People would love to have smart capsules that would automatically activate medication when it detects disease and stops when it is healed. In principle, this could be possible with our shapeshifting materials,” said Dr. Ronit Freeman, senior and corresponding author of the paper and director of the Freeman Lab at UNC. “In the future, swallowable or implantable shape-changing flowers could be designed to deliver a targeted dose of drugs, perform a biopsy, or clear a blood clot.”

The idea was inspired by natural processes such as flower petals unfurling, coral pulsing, and tissues forming in living organisms. The researchers wanted to mimic these complex behaviors in artificial materials, a challenge that has long stumped scientists working at microscopic scales.

“We take inspiration from nature’s designs, like blooming flowers or growing tissue, and translate them into technology that could one day think, move, and adapt on its own,” said Freeman.

The key to their success is how the DNA is arranged inside the flower-shaped crystals. When the surrounding environment becomes more acidic, parts of the DNA fold tightly, causing the flower to close. When conditions return to normal, the DNA loosens, and the petals open again. This simple but powerful motion can be used to control chemical reactions, carry and release molecules, or interact with cells and tissues.

Although the technology is still in early testing, the team envisions exciting future uses. One day, these DNA flowers could be injected into the body, where they would travel to a tumor. Once there, the tumor’s acidity could cause the petals to close, releasing medicine or taking a tiny tissue sample. When the tumor resolves, the flowers would reopen and deactivate, ready to respond again if the disease returns.

Beyond medicine, these smart materials could be used to clean up environmental disasters, releasing cleaning agents into polluted water, and then dissolving harmlessly when the job is done. They could even store massive amounts of digital information, up to two trillion gigabytes in just a teaspoon, offering a greener, more efficient way to store, read, and write data in the future.

This breakthrough marks a major step toward materials that can sense and respond to their environment, bridging the gap between living systems and machines.

The research paper is available online in Nature Nanotechnology at: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41565-025-02026-8

Original Publication
Authors: Yuan Gao, Wenzheng Shi, Stephen J. Klawa, Margaret L. Daly, Edward T. Samulski, Ehssan Nazockdast and Ronit Freeman.
Journal: Nature Nanotechnology
DOI: 10.1038/s41565-025-02026-8
Article Title: Reversible Metamorphosis of Hierarchical DNA-Inorganic Crystals
Article Publication Date: 20-Oct-2025

Original Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41565-025-02026-8

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Gabriella Neyman
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
gmneyman@unc.edu

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The basic lantern object is made by cutting a polymer sheet into a diamond-like parallelogram shape, then cutting a row of parallel lines across the center of each sheet. This creates a row of identical ribbons that is connected by a solid strip of material at the top and bottom of the sheet. By connecting the left and right ends of the solid strips at top and bottom, the polymer sheet forms a three-dimensional shape resembling a roughly spherical Chinese lantern.

“This basic shape is, by itself, bistable,” says Jie Yin, corresponding author of a paper on the work and a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at North Carolina State University. “In other words, it has two stable forms. It is stable in its lantern shape, of course. But if you compress the structure, pushing down from the top, it will slowly begin to deform until it reaches a critical point, at which point it snaps into a second stable shape that resembles a spinning top. In the spinning-top shape, the structure has stored all of the energy you used to compress it. So, once you begin to pull up on the structure, you will reach a point where all of that energy is released at once, causing it to snap back into the lantern shape very quickly.”

“We found that we could create many additional shapes by applying a twist to the shape, by folding the solid strips at the top or bottom of the lantern in or out, or any combination of those things,” says Yaoye Hong, first author of the paper and a former Ph.D. student at NC State who is now a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Pennsylvania. “Each of these variations is also multistable. Some can snap back and forth between two stable states. One has four stable states, depending on whether you’re compressing the structure, twisting the structure, or compressing and twisting the structure simultaneously.”

By attaching a thin magnetic film to the solid strip at the bottom of the structure, the researchers were able to compress or twist the structures remotely, using a magnetic field. They then demonstrated several applications that made use of snapping between two stable shapes. These applications included a noninvasive gripper for grasping fish; a filter that opened and closed to control the flow of water; and a compact shape that rapidly expanded into a tall shape to open a collapsed tube. Video of the work can be found at https://youtu.be/l78vqooIXuk?si=Q0d6DSMN-7HaHXfa.

The researchers also developed a mathematical model that captures the way in which different angles in the structure control both the shape of each variation and the amount of energy that is stored in each stable state.

“This model allows us to program the shape we want to create, how stable it is, and how powerful it can be when stored potential energy is allowed to snap into kinetic energy,” says Hong. “And all of those things are critical for creating shapes that can perform desired applications.”

“Moving forward, these lantern units can be assembled into 2D and 3D architectures for broad applications in shape-morphing mechanical metamaterials and robotics,” says Yin. “We will be exploring that.”

The paper, “Reprogrammable snapping morphogenesis in freestanding ribbon-cluster meta-units via stored elastic energy,” will be published Oct. 10 in the journal Nature Materials. The paper was co-authored by Caizhi Zhou and Haitao Qing, both Ph.D. students at NC State; and by Yinding Chi, a former Ph.D. student at NC State who is now a postdoctoral researcher at Penn.

This work was done with support from the National Science Foundation under grants 2005374, 2369274 and 2445551.

Original Publication
Authors: Yaoye Hong, Caizhi Zhou, Haitao Qing, Yinding Chi and Jie Yin.
Journal: Nature Materials
DOI: 10.1038/s41563-025-02370-z
Method of Research: Experimental study
Subject of Research: Not applicable
Article Title: Reprogrammable snapping morphogenesis in freestanding ribbon-cluster meta-units via stored elastic energy
Article Publication Date: 10-Oct-2025
COI Statement: The authors declare no competing interests.

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Meeting global energy demands while mitigating environmental harm remains a major challenge, as many current solutions rely on expensive and toxic noble metals. In a recent study, researchers from Japan successfully developed a novel copper–cobalt oxide composite anchored on nitrogen-doped carbon nanostructures. Synthesized via a simple method, this material excels in energy storage, environmental remediation, and water splitting—offering a low-cost and sustainable alternative to conventional catalysts across multiple applications.

The world is currently grappling with unprecedented energy demands and the escalating threats of climate change, pollution, and the depletion of natural resources. Humanity desperately needs to transition to clean, renewable energy sources and develop methods for managing industrial waste, all while minimizing environmental impact. These interconnected global issues require innovative solutions that are both effective and sustainable for prolonged periods of time.

While notable efforts are underway to address these challenges, many existing technologies and catalytic processes often rely on expensive, scarce, and often toxic noble metals like platinum and palladium, which limit their widespread adoption, especially in large-scale industrial applications. Moreover, tackling diverse problems like clean energy production, environmental remediation, and chemical synthesis often requires multiple specialized systems and infrastructure. What if a single material could address all these requirements?

In a recent study, a research team led by Distinguished Professor Ick Soo Kim, along with Gopiraman Mayakrishnan and Azeem Ullah, all from the Institute for Fiber Engineering and Science (IFES) at Shinshu University, Japan, and Ramkumar Vanaraj from the School of Chemical Engineering, Yeungnam University, Republic of Korea, found a novel and pioneering solution. Their work, published online in Volume 8 of the journal Advanced Composites and Hybrid Materials on September 16, 2025, introduces a novel, high-performance, trifunctional composite material synthesized through a simple and easily scalable method.

Explaining their motivation behind their study, Prof. Kim states, “Our motivation stems from the urgent need to develop sustainable, efficient, and environmentally benign materials that address the intertwined challenges of energy scarcity, environmental pollution, and reliance on fossil resources.”

The researchers engineered a copper–cobalt oxide composite anchored on nitrogen-doped graphene and carbon nanotubes (CuCo-oxide/NGCNT). This innovative material boasts a hierarchical 3D structure, designed to leverage the synergistic effects between the bimetallic oxides and the nitrogen-doped carbon nanostructures. Owing to its unique conductive architecture, the material exhibits exceptional electron transfer and numerous active catalytic sites, which are key to its superior performance across various applications.

For energy storage in supercapacitors, essential components of renewable energy systems and electric vehicles, CuCo-oxide/NGCNT exhibits high specific capacitance and exceptional stability, retaining 88% of its original capacitance after 10,000 cycles. Meanwhile, in environmental remediation, it can effectively catalyze the reduction of toxic 4-nitrophenol-containing pollutants found in industrial wastewater into valuable 4-aminophenol compounds within minutes. This underscores the material’s potential for water purification. Additionally, for sustainable biomass conversion, the composite achieves near-complete conversion of biomass-derived 5-hydroxymethylfurfural into 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid, a valuable chemical essential for sustainable polymer production. Furthermore, this novel composite is also reusable and is not toxic.

Finally, in renewable energy applications, CuCo-oxide/NGCNT serves as a bifunctional electrocatalyst for water splitting, demonstrating robust activity in both the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). It exhibits exceptional electrochemical properties, including low overpotentials for both OER and HER, even after 40 hours of continuous testing. “By providing a cost-effective, non-toxic, and durable catalyst for water splitting, CuCo-oxide/NGCNT advances green hydrogen production technologies, which are key to decarbonizing energy systems,” notes Prof. Kim. The remarkable performance of this new catalyst is compounded by the fact that it is made from inexpensive and abundant materials using a straightforward synthesis procedure.

Overall, this study marks a significant step toward addressing critical global challenges through materials science. “Supported by green chemistry principles and a commitment to sustainable development, this work paves the way for multifunctional materials that integrate energy storage with environmental sustainability, aligning with global goals for clean water, affordable energy, and responsible industry,” concludes Prof. Kim.

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About Shinshu University

Shinshu University is a national university founded in 1949 and located nestling under the Japanese Alps in Nagano known for its stunning natural landscapes.

Shinshu University was selected for the Forming Japan’s Peak Research Universities (J-PEAKS) Program by the Japanese government. This initiative seeks to promote the formation of university consortia that will enhance research capabilities across Japan.

Our motto, “Powered by Nature – strengthening our network with society and applying nature to create innovative solutions for a better tomorrow” reflects the mission of fostering promising creative professionals and deepening the collaborative relationship with local communities, which leads to our contribution to regional development by innovation in various fields. We’re working on providing solutions for building a sustainable society through interdisciplinary research fields: material science (carbon, fiber and composites), biomedical science (for intractable diseases and preventive medicine) and mountain science, and aiming to boost research and innovation capability through collaborative projects with distinguished researchers from the world. For more information visit https://www.shinshu-u.ac.jp/english/ or follow us on X (Twitter) @ShinshuUni for our latest news.

Media Contact

Chinatsu Anthoine
Shinshu University
intl_ac@shinshu-u.ac.jp
Office: 81-263-37-2097

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Researchers investigate clean and efficient new method for iron production

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (09/29/2025) — A research team at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities has investigated a new method to produce iron, the main component of steel. For the first time, the researchers were able to observe chemical reactions and iron formation in real-time at the nanometer scale.

This breakthrough has the potential to transform the global iron and steel production industry by improving energy efficiency and lowering costs. The study was recently published in Nature Communications, a peer-reviewed, high impact scientific journal.

According to the paper, the iron and steel industry is the largest industrial emitter of carbon dioxide, responsible for approximately 7 percent of the total global carbon dioxide emissions. Traditional methods for producing iron are pollution-heavy, relying on coke–a type of coal–to remove oxygen from iron ore—a process that has remained largely unchanged for centuries.

This method eliminates the CO₂ emissions that have traditionally come from iron-making that can be performed at room temperature. This makes it potentially more efficient and desirable to industry and opens new pathways to innovation in the U.S. based manufacturing industry.

The new process uses hydrogen gas plasma, an ionized gas which dissociates the hydrogen gas producing an abundance of highly reactive hydrogen atoms. When the iron is exposed to this plasma, the highly reactive hydrogen atoms strip the oxygen from the ore producing pure iron and water vapor.

“We developed a new technique that allows us to monitor plasma-material interactions at the nanometer scale, which has never been done before,” said Jae Hyun Nam, first author on the paper and a Ph.D. student in the University of Minnesota Department of Mechanical Engineering.

The team partnered with Hummingbird Scientific, a company that builds products for electron, X-ray and ion microscopy, to create a specialized holder that fits inside of an transmission electron microscope.

“Overcoming the technical challenges of this research was one of the most difficult experiments we’ve done,” said Peter Bruggeman, a senior author on the paper and University of Minnesota Distinguished McKnight University Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. “Generating plasmas on a scale around the size of a human hair, which is required to obtain the nanometer resolution, creates significant engineering challenges which we collaboratively tackled with Hummingbird Scientific.”

Previous optical methods could only be viewed at a few hundred nanometers—about a thousand times smaller than the diameter of a human hair. This new method will allow researchers to see things at a nanometer resolution, which is 100 times better than previous research.

“Creating plasma could be energetically a lot more efficient than heating the material,” said Andre Mkhoyan, a senior author on the paper and professor and Ray D. and Mary T. Johnson Chair in the University of Minnesota Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science. “This innovation could lead to materials being modified with lower energy consumption, ultimately making processes more economically efficient.”

Read the full paper entitled, “Revealing the mechanisms of non-thermal plasma-enabled iron oxide reduction through nanoscale operando TEM” on the Nature Communications website.

Media Contact

Rhonda Zurn
University of Minnesota
rzurn@umn.edu
Office: 612-626-7959

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A new study, “IoT-Altimeter in Smart Pallets for Material Tracking on Multi-storey Construction Sites”, introduces a simple yet effective solution: equipping standard pallets with smart IoT devices that automatically track their location by floor level.

How the System Works

The upgraded pallets are embedded with barometric sensors, which function like digital altimeters. By measuring air pressure, they can detect the height of the pallet and determine which floor it is on. This data is then transmitted wirelessly via LoRaWAN, a low-energy communication protocol well-suited for construction environments.

The information can be accessed by site managers and workers, ensuring they always know where critical materials are located.

Prototype Demonstration

To test the idea, the researchers built a working prototype. Results showed that:

• The barometric sensors were accurate enough to distinguish between building floors separated by just 3–4 meters.
• LoRaWAN successfully transmitted data through walls and floors, proving reliable even in complex building structures.
  

This means the system can realistically operate in the noisy, obstructed environment of a construction site.

Practical and Cost-Effective Solution

Unlike other tracking methods that require expensive infrastructure or fragile labels, the smart pallet system is low-cost, robust, and easy to adopt. Each unit costs around €50 to build, with batteries lasting several months before recharging. Because the devices are integrated into the pallets themselves, they are naturally shielded from wear and tear.

Future Development Needs

The project is still in its early stages. Testing so far has been limited to controlled environments, not live construction sites. The next steps include:

• Synchronising sensor measurements across pallets.
• Ensuring performance in taller, more complex buildings.
• Improving battery life and recharging methods.
  

Despite these challenges, the research strongly supports the system’s potential for real-world use.

Transforming Construction Logistics

By reducing wasted time and improving coordination, smart pallets could significantly enhance construction site efficiency. In the future, the data from such systems may be integrated into digital twin models, offering real-time oversight and smoother project management.

About the Publication

The paper was published in Smart Construction (ISSN: 2960-2033), a peer-reviewed, open access journal covering research in intelligent construction, operation, and maintenance. The journal, now indexed in Scopus, offers free article submissions until 2026.

Summary of Key Points

• Researchers developed smart pallets with IoT altimeters to track building materials.
• System uses barometric sensors to detect floor levels and LoRaWAN for data transmission.
• Prototype tests showed accurate floor detection and reliable wireless performance.
• Cost-effective: about €50 per pallet, with batteries lasting for months.
• Next steps include field testing, energy optimisation, and signal improvements.
• Potential to reduce wasted time, cut costs, and support digital twin integration in construction projects.

Original Publication
Authors: Maximilian Gehring, Jens Wala and Uwe Rüppel.
Journal: Smart Construction
DOI: 10.55092/sc20250023
Method of Research: Experimental study
Subject of Research: Not applicable
Article Title: IoT-altimeter in smart pallets for material tracking on multi-storey construction sites
Article Publication Date: 4-Sep-2025

Original Source: https://www.elspub.com/papers/j/1937803706067210240.html

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