Aurelia Butler

A team of scientists from A*STAR’s Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS) and Bioinformatics Institute (BII) has developed a new AI software tool called “BANKSY” that automatically recognises the cell types present in a tissue, such as muscle cells, nerve cells and fat cells. Going a step beyond conventional AI tools which can group cells together into clusters if they contain similar molecules, BANKSY also considers how similar the cells’ surroundings in the tissue are. With BANKSY, researchers would be able to improve their understanding of tissue processes in diverse diseases quicker and more accurately, which can support the development of more effective diagnostics and treatments for cancer, neurological disorders and other diseases. This breakthrough research was published in the article “BANKSY unifies cell typing and tissue domain segmentation for scalable spatial omics data analysis” in Nature Genetics on 27 February 2024.
BANKSY is adept at identifying subtly distinct cell groups in spatial molecular profiles generated from tissue samples. Moreover, BANKSY addresses the distinct but related problem of demarcating functionally distinct anatomical regions in tissue sections. For instance, it can distinguish layered structures in the human forebrain.
Spatial molecular profiling (Spatial Omics) technologies are powerful microscopes that allow scientists to study tissues in great detail, by revealing the exact locations of individual biological molecules in cells, as well as the arrangement of cells in tissues. This helps them understand how cells come together in tissues to perform their normal physiological functions, and also how they behave (or misbehave) in diseases such as cancer, autism or infectious diseases such as COVID-19. This understanding is essential for more accurate diagnosis and tailored treatment of patients, as well as the discovery of new drugs.
BANKSY can help biologists interpret and extract insights from the latest Spatial Omics technologies that have emerged over the past few years. Versatile, accurate, fast and scalable, BANKSY stands out from existing methods at analysing both RNA and protein-based Spatial Omics data. Capable of handling large datasets of over two million cells, BANKSY is 10 to 1,000 times faster than competing methods that were tested, and two to 60 times more scalable. This means that the method can also be applied to other key data-processing steps, such as detecting and removing poor quality areas of the sample, and for merging samples taken from different patients for combined analysis.
BANKSY has been independently benchmarked and found to be the best-performing algorithm for spatial omics data by two independent studies, one of which concluded that BANKSY can be a powerful solution for the identification of domains. The other study tested six algorithms and selected BANKSY as the most accurate for their data analysis.
Dr Shyam Prabhakar, Senior Group Leader, Laboratory of Systems Biology and Data Analytics and Associate Director, Spatial and Single Cell Systems at A*STAR’s GIS, said, “We anticipate that BANKSY will be a game-changing tool that helps to unlock the potential of emerging Spatial Omics technologies. This will hopefully improve our understanding of tissue processes in diverse diseases, allowing us to develop more effective treatments for cancers, neurological disorders and many other pathologies.”
Professor Liu Jian Jun, Acting Executive Director at A*STAR’s GIS, said, “The work on BANKSY advances our strategy of combining high-throughput technologies with scalable, robust AI software for problem-solving and identifying the clues to what can make a difference in the lives of patients.”
Dr Iain Tan, Senior Consultant, Division of Medical Oncology at National Cancer Centre Singapore and Senior Clinician Scientist at A*STAR’s GIS Laboratory of Applied Cancer Genomics, said, “We are using BANKSY to identify the cells that help tumours grow and spread to other parts of the body — drugs targeting such cells could be a promising direction for cancer treatment.” More

In sports training, practice is the key, but being able to emulate the techniques of professional athletes can take a player’s performance to the next level. AI-based personalized sports coaching assistants can make this a reality by utilizing published datasets. With cameras and sensors strategically placed on the athlete’s body, these systems can track everything, including joint movement patterns, muscle activation levels, and gaze movements.
Using this data, personalized feedback is provided on player technique, along with improvement recommendations. Athletes can access this feedback anytime, and anywhere, making these systems versatile for athletes at all levels.
Now, in a study published in the journal Scientific Data on April 5, 2024, researchers led by Associate Professor SeungJun Kim from the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), South Korea, in collaboration with researchers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), CSAIL, USA, have developed a MultiSenseBadminton dataset for AI-driven badminton training.
“Badminton could benefit from these various sensors, but there is a scarcity of comprehensive badminton action datasets for analysis and training feedback,” says Ph.D. candidate Minwoo Seong, the first author of the study.
Supported by the 2024 GIST-MIT project, this study took inspiration from MIT’s ActionSense project, which used wearable sensors to track everyday kitchen tasks such as peeling, slicing vegetables, and opening jars. Seong collaborated with MIT’s team, including MIT CSAIL postdoc researcher Joseph DelPreto and MIT CSAIL Director and MIT EECS Professor Daniela Rus and Wojciech Matusik. Together, they developed the MultiSenseBadminton dataset, capturing movements and physiological responses of badminton players. This dataset, shaped with insights from professional badminton coaches, aims to enhance the quality of forehand clear and backhand drive strokes. For this, the researchers collected 23 hours of swing motion data from 25 players with varying levels of training experience.
During the study, players were tasked with repeatedly executing forehand clear and backhand drive shots while sensors recorded their movements and responses. These included inertial measurement units (IMU) sensors to track joint movements, electromyography (EMG) sensors to monitor muscle signals, insole sensors for foot pressure, and a camera to record both body movements and shuttlecock positions. With a total of 7,763 data points collected, each swing was meticulously labeled based on stroke type, player’s skill level, shuttlecock landing position, impact location relative to the player, and sound upon impact. The dataset was then validated using a machine learning model, ensuring its suitability for training AI models to evaluate stroke quality and offer feedback.
“The MultiSenseBadminton dataset can be used to build AI-based education and training systems for racket sports players. By analyzing the disparities in motion and sensor data among different levels of players and creating AI-generated action trajectories, the dataset can be applied to personalized motion guides for each level of players,” says Seong.
The gathered data can enhance training through haptic vibration or electrical muscle stimulation, promoting better motion and refining swing techniques. Additionally, player tracking data, like that in the MultiSenseBadminton dataset, could fuel virtual reality games or training simulations, making sports training more accessible and affordable, potentially transforming how people exercise.
In the long run, the researchers speculate that this dataset could make sports training more accessible and affordable for a broader audience, promote overall well-being, and foster a healthier population. More

Researchers from the University of Portsmouth have unveiled a quantum sensing scheme that achieves the pinnacle of quantum sensitivity in measuring the transverse displacement between two interfering photons.
This new technique has the potential to enhance superresolution imaging techniques that already employ single-photon sources as probes for the localization and tracking of biological samples, such as single-molecule localization microscopy with quantum dots.
Traditionally, achieving ultra-high precision in nanoscopic techniques has been constrained by the limitations of standard imaging methods, such as the diffraction limit of cameras and highly magnifying objectives. However, this new quantum sensing scheme circumvents these obstacles, paving the way for unprecedented levels of precision.
At the heart of this innovation lies an interferometric technique that not only achieves unparalleled spatial precision, but also maintains its effectiveness regardless of the overlap between displaced photonic wave packets. The precision of this technique is only marginally reduced when dealing with photons differing in nonspatial degrees of freedom, marking a significant advancement in quantum-enhanced spatial sensitivity.
Study co-author Professor Vincenzo Tamma, Director of the Quantum Science and Technology Hub, said: “These results shed new light on the metrological power of two-photon spatial interference and can pave the way to new high-precision sensing techniques.
“Other potential applications for the research could be found in the development of quantum sensing techniques for high-precision refractometry and astrophysical bodies localisation, as well as high-precision multi-parameter sensing schemes, including 3D quantum localisation methods. More

A new study co-authored by Sophie Janicke-Bowles, associate professor in Chapman University’s School of Communication, sheds light on the role that new and traditional media play in promoting and affecting character development, emotions, prosocial behavior and well-being (aka happiness) in youth.
Her research and teaching focus on positive psychology, media and new communication technologies, and media and spirituality. The study, published April 13 in Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD), investigates how adolescents perceive and engage with digital communication, including connectedness, positive social comparison, authentic self-presentation, civil participation and self-control.
“This was such an amazing research study to be part of as we all are craving more nuanced answers on how digital technologies affect our children,” said Janicke-Bowles.
Janicke-Bowles’ research contributes to the understanding of digital flourishing (positive social media experiences) among adolescents, highlighting the importance of supportive parental mediation and digital skills in promoting positive digital engagement. Moving forward, interventions aimed at enhancing digital flourishing should consider the role of parental guidance and support in shaping adolescents’ online experiences. Adolescents who flourish in their digital communication over time are more likely to have parents who know their way around technology and who actively support their children to positively communicate online. For adolescents who digitally flourish less, their self-control over digital communication decreases. To increase digital flourishing, interventions can aim in assisting adolescents in their control over their digital communication and encourage parents to take an active role in their young adults’ digital communication.These findings underscore the significance of parental influence and support in fostering positive digital communication experiences among adolescents.
In addition to her recent research, Janicke-Bowles has a distinguished history of exploring the intersection of media and psychology. As a member of a research team from Florida State and Penn State universities, she received a $1.9 million grant from the John Templeton Foundation to investigate the impact of media content on self-transcendent emotions. Her academic journey, spanning from clinical and media psychology in Germany to mass communication in the United States, underscores her commitment to understanding the profound effects of media on human experiences. More

Research led by scientists at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory has demonstrated that small changes in the isotopic content of thin semiconductor materials can influence their optical and electronic properties, possibly opening the way to new and advanced designs with the semiconductors.
Partly because of semiconductors, electronic devices and systems become more advanced and sophisticated every day. That’s why for decades researchers have studied ways to improve semiconductor compounds to influence how they carry electrical current. One approach is to use isotopes to change the physical, chemical and technological properties of materials.
Isotopes are members of a family of an element that all have the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons and thus different masses. Isotope engineering has traditionally focused on enhancing so-called bulk materials that have uniform properties in three dimensions, or 3D. But new research led by ORNL has advanced the frontier of isotope engineering where current is confined in two dimensions, or 2D, inside flat crystals and where a layer is only a few atoms thick. The 2D materials are promising because their ultrathin nature could allow for precise control over their electronic properties.
“We observed a surprising isotope effect in the optoelectronic properties of a single layer of molybdenum disulfide when we substituted a heavier isotope of molybdenum in the crystal, an effect that opens opportunities to engineer 2D optoelectronic devices for microelectronics, solar cells, photodetectors and even next-generation computing technologies,” said ORNL scientist Kai Xiao.
Yiling Yu, a member of Xiao’s research team, grew isotopically pure 2D crystals of atomically thin molybdenum disulfide using molybdenum atoms of different masses. Yu noticed small shifts in the color of light emitted by the crystals under photoexcitation, or stimulation by light.
“Unexpectedly, the light from the molybdenum disulfide with the heavier molybdenum atoms was shifted farther to the red end of the spectrum, which is opposite to the shift one would expect for bulk materials,” Xiao said. The red shift indicates a change in the electronic structure or optical properties of the material.
Xiao and the team, working with theorists Volodymyr Turkowski and Talat Rahman at the University of Central Florida, knew that the phonons, or crystal vibrations, must be scattering the excitons, or optical excitations, in unexpected ways in the confined dimensions of these ultrathin crystals. They discovered how this scattering shifts the optical bandgap to the red end of the light spectrum for heavier isotopes. “Optical bandgap” refers to the minimum amount of energy needed to make a material absorb or emit light. By adjusting the bandgap, researchers can make semiconductors absorb or emit different colors of light, and such tunability is essential for designing new devices.

ORNL’s Alex Puretzky described how different crystals grown on a substrate can show small shifts in emitted color caused by regional strain in the substrate. To prove the anomalous isotope effect and measure its magnitude to compare with theoretical predictions, Yu grew molybdenum disulfide crystals with two molybdenum isotopes in one crystal.
“Our work was unprecedented in that we synthesized a 2D material with two isotopes of the same element but with different masses, and we joined the isotopes laterally in a controlled and gradual manner in a single monolayer crystal,” Xiao said. “This enabled us to observe the intrinsic anomalous isotope effect on the optical properties in the 2D material without the interference caused by an inhomogeneous sample.”
The study demonstrated that even a small change of isotope masses in the atomically thin 2D semiconductor materials can influence optical and electronic properties — a finding that provides an important basis for continued research.
“Previously, the belief was that to make devices such as photovoltaics and photodetectors, we had to combine two different semiconductor materials to make junctions to trap excitons and separate their charges. But actually, we can use the same material and just change its isotopes to create isotopic junctions to trap the excitons,” Xiao said. “This research also tells us that through isotope engineering, we can tune the optical and electronic properties to design new applications.”
For future experiments, Xiao and the team plan to collaborate with the experts at the High Flux Isotope Reactor and the Isotope Science and Engineering Directorate at ORNL. These facilities can provide various highly enriched isotope precursors to grow different isotopically pure 2D materials. The team can then further investigate the isotope effect on spin properties for their application in spin electronics and quantum emission.
This work was supported by DOE’s Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences, Materials Sciences and Engineering Division and was performed at the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, or CNMS, at ORNL, an Office of Science user facility. The CNMS supported the TOF-SIMS, STEM and optical spectroscopy measurements. More

A first-ever stretchy electronic skin could equip robots and other devices with the same softness and touch sensitivity as human skin, opening up new possibilities to perform tasks that require a great deal of precision and control of force.
The new stretchable e-skin, developed by researchers at The University of Texas at Austin, solves a major bottleneck in the emerging technology. Existing e-skin technology loses sensing accuracy as the material stretches, but that is not the case with this new version.
“Much like human skin has to stretch and bend to accommodate our movements, so too does e-skin,” said Nanshu Lu, a professor in the Cockrell School of Engineering’s Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics who led the project. “No matter how much our e-skin stretches, the pressure response doesn’t change, and that is a significant achievement.”
The new research was published today in Matter.
Lu envisions the stretchable e-skin as a critical component to a robot hand capable of the same level of softness and sensitivity in touch as a human hand. This could be applied to medical care, where robots could check a patient’s pulse, wipe the body or massage a body part.
Why is a robot nurse or physical therapist necessary? Around the world, millions of people are aging and in need of care, more than the global medical system can provide.
“In the future, if we have more elderly than available caregivers, it’s going to be a crisis worldwide,” Lu said. “We need to find new ways to take care of people efficiently and also gently, and robots are an important piece of that puzzle.”
Beyond medicine, human-caring robots could be deployed in disasters. They could search for injured and trapped people in an earthquake or a collapsed building, for example, and apply on-the-spot care, such as administering CPR.

E-skin technology senses pressure from contact, letting the attached machine know how much force to use to, for example, grab a cup or touch a person. But, when conventional e-skin is stretched, it also senses that deformation. That reading creates additional noise that skews the sensors’ ability to sense the pressure. That could lead to a robot using too much force to grab something.
In demonstrations, the stretchability allowed the researchers to create inflatable probes and grippers that could change shape to perform a variety of sensitive, touch-based tasks. The inflated skin-wrapped probe was used on human subjects to capture their pulse and pulse waves accurately. The deflated grippers can conformably hold on to a tumbler without dropping it, even when a coin is dropped inside. The device also pressed on a crispy taco shell without breaking it.
The key to this discovery is an innovative hybrid response pressure sensor that Lu and collaborators have been working on for years. While conventional e-skins are either capacitive or resistive, the hybrid response e-skin employs both responses to pressure. Perfecting these sensors, and combining them with stretchable insulating and electrode materials, enabled this e-skin innovation.
Lu — who is also affiliated with the Department of Biomedical Engineering, the Chandra Family Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, the Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering, and the Texas Materials Institute — and her team are now working toward the potential applications. They are collaborating with Roberto Martin-Martin, assistant professor at the College of Natural Sciences’ Computer Science Department to build a robotic arm equipped with the e-skin. The researchers and UT have filed a provisional patent application for the e-skin technology, and Lu is open to collaborating with robotics companies to bring it to market.
Other authors on the paper are Kyoung-Ho Ha and Sangjun Kim of the Walker Department of Engineering; Zhengjie Li, Heeyong Huh and Zheliang Wang of the Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics; and Hongyang Shi, Charles Block and Sarnab Bhattacharya of the Chandra Family Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Ha is now a postdoctoral researcher at the Querrey Simpson Institute for Bioelectronics at Northwestern University, and Block is now a doctoral student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s Department of Computer Science. More

The interest in antimicrobial solutions for personal and multi-user touch screens, such as tablets and mobile devices, has grown in recent years. Traditional methods like sprayable alcohols or wipes are not ideal for these delicate displays. Antimicrobial coatings applied directly to the glass are a promising alternative, but only if they are transparent and long-lasting. Previous proposed coating solutions, such as photocatalytic metal oxides (e.g., TiO2 and ZnO), have posed some challenges. Additionally, these coatings typically require light and moisture to be antimicrobial and eliminate the microbes present on the surface.
Copper is a well-known biocidal metal with high efficacy against a wide range of microorganisms, and it has been traditionally used for objects such as door handles and hospital bedrails. However, copper coatings are predominantly opaque, which to date has prevented the realization of a transparent, copper-based antimicrobial solution suitable for displays. Furthermore, the high electrical conductivity of the metal film can negatively interfere with the touch-sensing functionality featured on mobile devices.
A team of researchers has designed and implemented a transparent nanostructured copper surface (TANCS) that is non-conductive, and resistant against the growth of certain bacteria. In a recent study, published in the journal Communications Materials, ICFO researchers Christina Graham, Alessia Mezzadrelli led by ICREA Prof. Valerio Pruneri, and colleagues from Corning, including Wageesha Senaratne, Santona Pal, Dean Thelen, Lisa Hepburn and Prantik Mazumder, have described their new approach to develop this surface.
The fabrication process of this surface involved depositing an ultra-thin copper film with a nominal thickness of 3.5nm onto a glass substrate. Then, the researchers used a rapid thermal annealing process to form dewetted Cu nanoparticles with optimal size and distribution. The specific design and method provided an antimicrobial effect, transparency, color neutrality, and electrical insulation. Finally, additional layers of SiO2 and fluorosilanes were deposited on top of the nanoparticles, providing environmental protection and improved durability properties with use-test cases.
The authors of the study examined the fabricated coating morphology, optical response, antimicrobial efficacy, and mechanical durability. The TANCS showed the ability to eliminate over 99.9% of “Staphylococcus Aureus” present in the tested surfaces within two hours, under stringent dry test conditions. Moreover, the substrate demonstrated optical transparency allowing for 70-80% light transmission in the visible range (380-750nm), color neutrality. Finally, the surfaces showed to have a prolonged effectiveness with use-test cases, maintaining their antimicrobial activity even after a rigorous wipe testing procedure.
“This is a great example of creating a multi attribute product while co-optimizing the attributes high efficacy antimicrobial properties that work under dry test conditions for touch enabled , display use test cases. Our goal was to show the connections with biological performance and physical attributes, and provide further guidance for future research,” said Wageesha Senaratne, researcher at Corning and leading co-author of the study.
“This new approach of considering the dewetting process opens to a variety of new possibilities to exploit some specific properties of metals while being able to thoughtfully change the others. Here for example, we were able to preserve the powerful antimicrobial effect of the copper while obtaining transparency and insulation despite the use of a metal,” said Alessia Mezzadrelli, author of the study and PhD student of the Nano-Glass project.

The introduction of these transparent antimicrobial surfaces holds significant promise in a world increasingly reliant on touchable displays, including smartphones or tablets.
“While further development is necessary for full-fledged commercial deployment, this is a step in the right direction to enable antimicrobial touch screens for public or personal displays,” said Prantik Mazumder, researcher at Corning and co-author of the study.
“The proof-of-concept surface we have developed with Corning is an example of our continuous joint efforts in the development of enhanced multifunctional display screen glass using nano-structuring,” said Valerio Pruneri, ICREA professor at ICFO and coordinator of the Nano-Glass project.
This research has been partially funded by the Nano-Glass project, a Marie Sklodowska-Curie Innovative Training Network (MSCA-ITN-2020), focused on research of glass materials and their nano-structuring. The project is aimed at developing innovative nano-structuring designs and methods for advanced glass screens for a better display of information as well as new optical fibers for information security. More