Global survey highlights the challenges of VR-haptic technology in dental education

University of Eastern Finland

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A recent global survey of 156 institutions reveals strong interest in VR-haptic technology for dental training, yet significant barriers impede widespread adoption. The study was led by the University of Eastern Finland and published in Frontiers in Dental Medicine.

Combining virtual reality with force feedback, VR-haptic technology is becoming more and more common in dental education where it complements traditional preclinical hand skill training methods. The aim of the present study was to understand dental educators' perceptions and needs regarding the acceptability and application of VR-haptics in dental education, as well as to gather suggestions for system improvements.

Over a third of 387 respondents (35%) cited technical limitations in current systems, such as insufficient haptic precision and restricted procedural options, which undermine skill transfer to real patient care. Financial constraints were another major hurdle, with 28% of institutions struggling to afford devices, leading to shortages and limited student access.

Resistance to change also persists: 24% noted low acceptance among educators and students, driven by disruptions to traditional teaching methods. Additionally, 13% highlighted time-intensive curriculum adaptations and training requirements as critical obstacles.

To address these challenges, the authors recommend further hardware and software development, seeking cost-reduction innovations, and providing targeted faculty training to demonstrate VR-haptics’ educational benefits. They point out that future success hinges on multidisciplinary collaboration—particularly among restorative dentistry, prosthodontics, and endodontics—to develop realistic, discipline-specific training scenarios.

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Journal

Frontiers in Dental Medicine

DOI

10.3389/fdmed.2025.1576646 

Method of Research

Survey

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Insights from the global education survey on the use of VR-haptics in dental education

Article Publication Date

24-Apr-2025

Plastics that melt in the ocean offer new hope for cleaner seas

One day we can say goodbye to microplastics.

byJordan Strickler
April 25, 2025

ZME Science –
 Edited and reviewed by Mihai Andrei

Artistic rendering of the new plastic. Image credits: RIKEN.

Plastic has become a permanent fixture in modern life—and that’s exactly the problem. Designed for convenience, it clogs oceans, chokes marine life, and lingers in ecosystems for centuries. Even when it breaks down, it often becomes microplastics that infiltrate food chains. Despite efforts like recycling, bans, and biodegradable alternatives, microplastic pollution remains an overwhelming challenge.

But scientists may have discovered a promising new approach: a type of plastic that doesn’t stick around. A study published in Science introduces “supramolecular plastics,” materials that dissolve safely into saltwater. These plastics are strong, versatile, and designed to disappear when exposed to the ocean. The material could help address one of the world’s most persistent environmental problems.

“With this new material, we have created a new family of plastics that are strong, stable, recyclable, can serve multiple functions, and importantly, do not generate microplastics,” said Takuzo Aida at the RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science.

Make biodegradable plastic

This new plastic is made using two key components. The first, sodium hexametaphosphate, is commonly used in food products and cleaning agents. The second, guanidinium sulfate, is a salt-based compound. When these two are mixed in water, they create a dense, interlinked network held together by molecular forces called “salt bridges.” Once this network forms, it can be dried and shaped into plastic films, molds, or even complex 3D-printed objects.

These plastics are built from two surprisingly common components: sodium hexametaphosphate, found in food and detergents, and guanidinium sulfate, a salt-based compound. When dissolved in water, they form a dense molecular network held together by salt bridges. Once dried, the material can be molded into films, containers, or even 3D-printed shapes.


Here’s the magic: in saltwater, those molecular bonds are disrupted. The network disintegrates back into its harmless building blocks—substances that marine bacteria can digest. In tests, thin films dissolved in hours; thicker pieces in just a few days.

Unlike many biodegradable plastics, which only break apart under industrial conditions or after lengthy exposure to heat, this plastic responds to the very environment it is most likely to end up in—the ocean. Even outside the sea, it is designed to decompose gradually, guaranteeing it doesn’t contribute to long-term waste. When buried in soil, for example, it naturally breaks down into organic compounds, unlike conventional plastics.

Also, the new material is non-toxic and non-flammable—meaning no CO2 emissions—and can be reshaped at temperatures above 120°C like other thermoplastics.

The plastics aren’t just eco-friendly; they’re also strong and versatile.

“While the reversable nature of the bonds in supramolecular plastics have been thought to make them weak and unstable, our new materials are just the opposite,” Aida said.

Tests showed that it performs as well as many traditional plastics, with the durability to hold up under heat and pressure. Its ability to be reused or recycled also sets it apart. The researchers demonstrated a process to dissolve and recover its key components, which can be used to create new plastics. This approach makes the material a candidate for supporting a circular economy, where waste is minimized, and materials are continuously repurposed.


The potential for this type of plastic is massive. Aside from 3D printing and medial materials, everyday items like food packaging and single-use containers, not to mention the biggie—plastic shopping bags—could be made from it.

While the science behind supramolecular plastics is innovative to say the least, bringing this material into widespread use will require time and investment. Manufacturing systems must be adapted to produce it commercially, and industries that rely on traditional plastics will need to see its value. Costs and durability in extreme conditions will need further testing, and policymakers must step in to encourage its adoption.

Still, the discovery represents an important shift in how plastics are imagined and designed. By creating materials useful for a finite time and then disappearing without harm, scientists are rethinking the very nature of waste.

Jordan Strickler
A space nerd and self-described grammar freak (all his Twitter posts are complete sentences), he loves learning about the unknown and figures that if he isn’t smart enough to send satellites to space, he can at least write about it. Twitter: @JordanS1981

Scientists urge plastic limit for lateral flow tests

A new study published in the Bulletin of the World Health Organisation (WHO) calls for urgent action to limit plastic waste in these essential diagnostic tools

Heriot-Watt University

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Lateral flow tests have transformed global healthcare by enabling rapid disease detection and improving access to medical diagnostics. 

However, their widespread, single-use design is creating an environmental crisis. 

A new study published in the Bulletin of the World Health Organisation (WHO) calls for urgent action to limit plastic waste in these essential diagnostic tools.

Researchers from Heriot-Watt University and the University of Edinburgh propose limiting how much plastic is used in test kits to curb unnecessary plastic waste. 

Their study, which analysed 21 different COVID-19 kits, highlights the significant variation in plastic usage and identifies opportunities for manufacturers to reduce material consumption without compromising effectiveness.

The weight of plastic varied from six grams to almost 40 grams per individual test.

Call to include maximum limits in test specifications 

Companies or organisations that want to create lateral flow and similar tests use target product profiles. 

These specify design elements that manufacturers must meet, whether cost, weight or size. 

Professor Maïwenn Kersaudy-Kerhoas, co-lead of Heriot-Watt’s Global Research Institute in Health & Care Technologies, said: “We have found few target product profiles that mention the environmental impact of tests, and none provide quantitative measures

“We want these profiles to include a limit of four grams of plastic usage in the lateral flow tests cassettes, for example. 

“Our study showed that was the average weight of plastic in test cassettes, so it’s achievable.”

“We hope this will be adopted as policy and an industry standard.” 

Professor Alice Street, an expert in anthropology and health at the University of Edinburgh, added: “Improving access to essential medical testing should not come at the expense of environmental sustainability. Our findings show that reducing plastic waste in test kits is both feasible and necessary.”

Growing environmental impact 

More than two billion lateral flow tests are produced annually. 

In 2023 alone, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria invested in 53 million HIV tests and 321 million malaria tests. 

While these tests expand access to healthcare, their plastic waste burdens waste management systems worldwide. In regions that lack proper disposal facilities, used test cassettes often end up in landfills and waterways or are openly burned, releasing pollutants. Even in developed nations, recycling these materials remains rare.

Pathways to greener diagnostics

The study suggests setting plastic usage limits in test kit manufacturing. 

Professor Kersaudy-Kerhoas said: “The convenience of lateral flow tests is undeniable, but we must acknowledge the long-term environmental consequences of single-use diagnostics. 

“If we do not act now, we risk creating an environmental crisis that undermines the health benefits these tests provide.”

The researchers urge policymakers, manufacturers, and global health organisations, including WHO, FIND, and PATH, to integrate environmental criteria into regulatory guidance and procurement processes. 

By establishing sustainability benchmarks, they believe the industry can continue to provide essential diagnostics while reducing plastic waste.

Next steps

The Heriot-Watt team is calling for governments and health organisations to refine environmental standards in diagnostic manufacturing and implement policies that reduce reliance on virgin petrochemical plastics.

The full study, Mass of Components and Material Distribution in Lateral Flow Assay Kits, is available in the Bulletin of the World Health Organization (2025;103).

The Global Research Institute in Health and Care Technologies works closely with industry and sector partners to deliver innovative, sustainable and use-inspired solutions to global health challenges in a spirit of co-creation. It applies Heriot-Watt University’s world-leading research and engineering capabilities to tackle challenges in an ever-changing world.

Anyone interested in collaborating with the new Global Research Institute in Health and Care Technologies at Heriot-Watt University should contact the Global Research Innovation and Design team at GRID@hw.ac.uk. 

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Journal

Bulletin of the World Health Organization

DOI

10.2471/BLT.24.292167 

 

‘Cryosphere meltdown’ will impact Arctic marine carbon cycles and ecosystems, new study warns

UiT The Arctic University of Norway

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Global warming may weaken Arctic fjords' ability to store carbon. This is Kings Bay in Svalbard.

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Credit: Till Bruckner / UiT

A new study led by Jochen Knies from the iC3 Polar Research Hub has found worrying signs that climate change may be undermining the capacity of Arctic fjords to serve as effective carbon sinks. The findings suggest that the capacity of polar oceans to remove carbon from the atmosphere may be reduced as the world continues to heat up.

Jochen and his collaborators discovered that rapid changes in the Arctic are transforming vibrant fjord ecosystems like Kongsfjorden in Svalbard. Their findings document not only a shift in phytoplankton communities due to melting ice but also a worrying decline in the capacity of these fjords to sequester carbon.

The Hidden World of Phytoplankton

At the foundation of Arctic food webs lies phytoplankton—tiny, microscopic heroes of our oceans. These organisms are not just food for fish. They play a pivotal role in carbon cycling and climate regulation. As the ice retreats, sunlight reaches more of the ocean surface, encouraging phytoplankton to thrive. Imagine a feast of life emerging from the depths, with fish and marine animals gathering around this newfound abundance.

Jochen Knies, lead author of the study, highlights this dynamic: “The changes we observe suggest that the future of these fjord ecosystems will depend heavily on how well they adapt to a warmer climate.”

Balancing Growth and Sustainability in a Warming Climate

Warmer waters can enhance phytoplankton growth during sunlit summers, presenting an initial opportunity for increased productivity. However, as the waters become stratified, essential nutrients become harder to access, leading to a double-edged sword: while we may see a rise in phytoplankton biomass, the efficiency of carbon capture could decline.

Jochen emphasizes this critical point: “While we anticipate greater primary production, the reality is that warmer, stratified waters could hinder the fjords' ability to serve as effective carbon sinks.”

Furthermore, the influx of glacial meltwater, like a lifeline for marine life, plays a vital role in reshaping the nutrient landscape of these fjords. As glaciers disappear, this nutrient supply becomes unpredictable, raising concerns about the long-term health of these ecosystems. Without a steady flow of nutrients, the ecological balance may be disrupted, potentially impacting the food web and overall productivity of the fjords.

Looking Ahead: The Arctic as a Climate Barometer

The Arctic acts as a vital indicator of global climate change. The world’s focus is drawn to these melting ice caps not just for their beauty, but because they hold significant lessons about our shared future. “The future of Arctic fjords reflects the broader climate challenges we face globally,” Jochen warns.

Global warming may weaken Arctic fjords' ability to store carbon. This is Kings Bay in Svalbard.

Credit

Till Bruckner / UiT

Dr Jochen Knies, Researcher and Adjunct Professor at the Department of Geosciences at UiT The Arctic University of Norway.

Credit

Clea Fabian / NGU

Journal

Communications Earth & Environment

Article Title

Arctic fjord ecosystem adaptation to cryosphere meltdown over the past 14,000 years

Article Publication Date

25-Apr-2025

The World’s Oldest Known Ant Is A 113-Million-Year-Old Hell Ant with Scythe Jaws

A remarkable find for ant history was made, not in the field but in a drawer.

byTibi Puiu
April 24, 2025
Edited and reviewed by Zoe Gordon

ZME Science 

A paleoartistic reconstruction of the new species, based on the fossil and on a close relative species found in amber from Myanmar. Credit: Diego M. Matielo

One of the most intriguing discoveries in entomology was just made — not in the field, but in a drawer.

Anderson Lepeco, an entomologist at the Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo, had been combing through slabs of ancient rock in a collection from a little-known fossil site in northeastern Brazil when he saw something strange: a faint outline that reminded him of something. It wasn’t a cockroach or a cricket, the usual fare in this collection. It was something else. “When I started to look at it and compared to the fossils in Myanmar, I was just shocked,” he said. “I was very, very excited, I was jumping through the lab.”

What he found was not just any insect. It was the oldest ant ever discovered — preserved for 113 million years in limestone. And not just any ant, either. It was a hell ant.

A Predator From the Cretaceous

Haidomyrmecinae fossil. Credit: Anderson Lepeco

Hell ants, known to scientists as members of the now-extinct subfamily Haidomyrmecinae, are unlike anything alive today. Their jaws didn’t swing sideways like modern ants. Instead, they arched upward like scythes, snapping shut in a vertical motion to pin or impale prey. Such an evolutionary strategy hasn’t been seen in any other insect before or since.

The fossil, now named Vulcanidris cratensis, is a female and was likely a queen. Its name honors the Vulcano family, who donated the rock deposits from the Crato Formation to the museum. The suffix “-idris” is often used in ant taxonomy and means “the provident one.”

Using micro-computed tomography (a kind of 3D X-ray scan), Lepeco’s team peered into the stone without having to pry anything open. What they found astonished them: mouthparts so intricately specialized they rival those of any modern predator. “While we expected to find hell ant features, we were shocked by the characteristics of its feeding apparatus,” said Lepeco.CT-Scan reconstruction of the hell ant fossil. Credit: Odair M. Meira

“Finding such an anatomically specialized ant from 113 million years ago challenges our assumptions about how quickly these insects developed complex adaptations. The intricate morphology suggests that even these earliest ants had already evolved sophisticated predatory strategies significantly different from their modern counterparts,” the researchers noted.

A New Timeline of Ant Evolution

Previously, the oldest known ants came from amber in France and Myanmar, dating back about 100 million years. This new specimen pushes that date back by 13 million years. More importantly, it’s the first time a hell ant has been found preserved in rock, rather than amber.

That matters. Amber tends to preserve animals that lived in or near forests, where tree resin could entrap them. Rock fossils, by contrast, can preserve species from a wider range of environments. The Crato Formation, where Vulcanidris was found, is a renowned fossil bed that once sat in the heart of the ancient supercontinent Gondwana.

“Vulcanidris offers the first undisputed evidence of ants in South America during the Cretaceous,” Corentin Jouault, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Oxford not involved in the research, told the Washington Post. “This is a watershed moment in paleomyrmecology, reviving confidence in the potential of Cretaceous Gondwanan fossil sites to inform early ant history.”

In evolutionary terms, this suggests that ants had already spread widely across the planet by the mid-Cretaceous, well before flowering plants became dominant and before dinosaurs like Tyrannosaurus rex even existed.

But the fossil does more than shift the timeline. It suggests ants evolved complex biological machinery earlier than we thought. Hell ants might have been among the first ants to diverge from their common ancestor. The first ants are thought to have appeared sometime between the Jurassic and early Cretaceous periods.

“Finding such an anatomically specialized ant from 113 million years ago challenges our assumptions about how quickly these insects developed complex adaptations,” Lepeco explained. “The intricate morphology suggests that even these earliest ants had already evolved sophisticated predatory strategies significantly different from their modern counterparts.”

What We Still Don’t Know

The fossil is a queen, which hints at some kind of social structure, but it’s unclear if Vulcanidris lived in colonies like modern ants. “Here in this very early ant, only a queen-like specimen was found,” said Adria LeBoeuf, a zoologist at the University of Cambridge. “Will we eventually find workers? Maybe yes, but perhaps this species was not yet eusocial.”

And then there’s the question of extinction. Hell ants thrived for tens of millions of years before disappearing. What killed them off? Was it competition with other ant lineages? Shifts in climate? Or were their scythe-like jaws simply not cut out for the job long term?

Nevertheless, the story of Vulcanidris is not just about ancient insects and early ants. It’s about the value of forgotten collections. Remember, this fossil didn’t come from a shiny new expedition. It came from a dusty slab in a cabinet.

“This finding highlights the importance of thorough examination of existing collections — private or in museums,” said Lepeco. “And it brings a spotlight to Brazilian paleontology and the underexplored fossil insect fauna of the country.”

Ants are now one of Earth’s dominant life forms — 20 quadrillion strong, shaping ecosystems on every continent except Antarctica. Yet their beginning, it seems, was stranger, older, and more wondrous than we imagined.

The findings appeared in the journal Current Biology.



Tibi Puiu
Tibi is a science journalist and co-founder of ZME Science. He writes mainly about emerging tech, physics, climate, and space. In his spare time, Tibi likes to make weird music on his computer and groom felines. He has a B.Sc in mechanical engineering and an M.Sc in renewable energy systems.

The oldest ant ever discovered found fossilized in Brazil

Cell Press

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image: 

Photograph of Haidomyrmecinae fossil.

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Credit: Anderson Lepeco

A 113-million-year-old hell ant that once lived in northeastern Brazil is now the oldest ant specimen known to science, finds a report publishing in the Cell Press journal Current Biology on April 24. The hell ant, which was preserved in limestone, is a member of Haidomyrmecinae—an extinct subfamily that only lived during the Cretaceous period. These ants had highly specialized, scythe-like jaws that they likely used to pin or impale prey. 

“Our team has discovered a new fossil ant species representing the earliest undisputable geological record of ants,” said author Anderson Lepeco of Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo in Brazil. “What makes this discovery particularly interesting is that it belongs to the extinct ‘hell ant,’ known for their bizarre predatory adaptations. Despite being part of an ancient lineage, this species already displayed highly specialized anatomical features, suggesting unique hunting behaviors.” 

The ant fossil’s discovery challenges our understanding of ant evolution and biogeography through time, according to the researchers. The previous oldest ants were found in France and Burma and were preserved in amber instead of limestone. The existence of a hell ant in Brazil shows that ants were already widely distributed and diversified early in their evolution, says the team. 

“Even though there have been hell ants described from amber, this was the first time we could visualize this in a rock fossil,” said Lepeco. 

Lepeco and his team discovered the “remarkably well-preserved" ant specimen while systematically examining one of the world’s largest collections of fossil insects from the Crato Formation, a deposit renowned for its exceptional fossil preservation. The collection is housed at the Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo.  

“When I encountered this extraordinary specimen, we immediately recognized its significance, not only as a new species but as potentially the definitive evidence of ants in the Crato Formation,” said Lepeco. “This finding highlights the importance of thorough examination of existing collections—private or in museums—and brings a spotlight to Brazilian paleontology and the underexplored fossil insect fauna of the country.” 

Micro-computed tomography imaging—a 3D imaging technique that uses X-rays to view the inside of an object, or ant in this case—showed that the newly discovered ant was closely related to hell ants previously known only from specimens preserved in Burmese amber—a type of amber found in Myanmar. The finding shows that the ants were widely distributed across the globe and must have crossed Cretaceous landmasses repeatedly, say the authors. But what astonished them most was the hell ant’s specialized features. 

“While we expected to find hell ant features, we were shocked by the characteristics of its feeding apparatus,” said Lepeco. Unlike modern ants with laterally moving mandibles, this species possessed mandibles that ran forward parallel to the head and facial projection anterior to the eyes, the researchers noted.  

“Finding such an anatomically specialized ant from 113 million years ago challenges our assumptions about how quickly these insects developed complex adaptations. The intricate morphology suggests that even these earliest ants had already evolved sophisticated predatory strategies significantly different from their modern counterparts.” 

The discovery of this new ant specimen raises broader questions about the evolutionary pressures that led to the hell ant’s unique adaptations, say the researchers. With advanced imaging tools, it’s now possible to examine such fossil specimens in much greater detail than ever before. 

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This research was supported by funding from FAPESP. 

Current Biology, Lepeco et al., “A hell ant from the Lower Cretaceous of Brazil.” https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(25)00308-2

Current Biology (@CurrentBiology), published by Cell Press, is a bimonthly journal that features papers across all areas of biology. Current Biology strives to foster communication across fields of biology, both by publishing important findings of general interest and through highly accessible front matter for non-specialists. Visit: http://www.cell.com/current-biology. To receive Cell Press media alerts, contact press@cell.com. 

CT-Scan reconstruction of the hell ant fossil.

Credit

Odair M. Meira

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Journal

Current Biology

DOI

10.1016/j.cub.2025.03.023 

Method of Research

Imaging analysis

Subject of Research

Animals

Article Title

A hell ant from the Lower Cretaceous of Brazil

Article Publication Date

24-Apr-2025