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Plastic nerve cells become more advanced – and simpler

Linköping University

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Researches at Linköping University have created an artificial nerve cell from a single organic electrochemical transistor, while still reproducing as many as 17 neural properties.

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Credit: Thor Balkhed

An artificial neuron made of conductive plastics that can perform advanced functions similar to those of biological nerve cells has been demonstrated by researchers at Linköping University, Sweden. The results, published in Science Advances, pave the way for a new generation of body-integrated sensors, medical implants, and robotics.

“Mimicking the behaviour of biological neurons has long been a major goal in so-called neuromorphic engineering. Traditional silicon-based electronics fall short because they don’t speak the same language as the nerve cells in our body,” says Simone Fabiano, professor of materials science at Linköping University, LiU.

Instead of relying on rigid silicon, Simone Fabiano’s team at the Laboratory of Organic Electronics at LiU works with a class of soft, flexible materials called conjugated polymers that can transport both ions and electrons. This dual capability allows them to interface more closely with biological systems.

In an article published in Science Advances, Simone Fabiano’s research group has shown that their artificial neurons can perform a type of information processing observed in our nervous system. This function means the neuron activates only when one input is present and another is absent. It is called anticoincidence detection and is a core principle in tasks like tactile sensing. 

“We can imagine using these devices to add a sense of touch in prosthetics or robotics. They show that organic electronics are not just softer alternatives to silicon, but can enable new kinds of neural computing that connect biology with electronics,” says Simone Fabiano.

In parallel with developing advanced functionality, his research group has also worked to simplify the basic structure of these artificial neurons. 

In early 2023, the researchers at Campus Norrköping succeeded in creating artificial nerve cells that reproduced 15 of the 22 key properties of biological neurons. However, those plastic nerve cells relied on many different components, which limited their practical use.

Now, in a study published in Nature Communications, the team has further refined the technology. They have reduced the artificial nerve cell to just a single organic electrochemical transistor, while still reproducing as many as 17 neural properties. This artificial neuron is not only highly functional but also extremely compact, comparable in size to a human nerve cell.

“This is one of the simplest and most biologically relevant artificial neurons made to date. It opens the door to integrating synthetic neurons directly with living tissue or soft robots,” says Simone Fabiano.

The research was mainly supported by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, the European Research Council, the Swedish Research Council, and the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research and through the Swedish Government Strategic Research Area in Materials Science on Advanced Functional Materials (AFM) at Linköping University.

Articles:

Single organic electrochemical neuron capable of anticoincidence detection, Padinhare Cholakkal Harikesh, Dace Gao, Han-Yan Wu, Chi-Yuan Yang, Deyu Tu, Simone Fabiano, Science Advances 2025, published online 20 June 2025. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adv3194

Single-transistor organic electrochemical neurons, Junpeng Ji, Dace Gao, Han-Yan Wu, Miao Xiong, Nevena Stajkovic, Claudia Latte Bovio, Chi-Yuan Yang, Francesca Santoro, Deyu Tu, Simone Fabiano, Nature Communications 2025, published online 9 May 2025. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-59587-4

Researches at Linköping University have created artificial neurons can perform a type of information processing called anticoincidence detection.

Junpeng Ji, researcher at the Laboratory of Organic Electronics at Linköping University.

Credit

Thor Balkhed

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Journal

Science Advances

DOI

10.1126/sciadv.adv3194 

Article Title

Single organic electrochemical neuron capable of anticoincidence detection

 

Reindeer grazing can mitigate the impacts of winter climate change on forest carbon release

Peer-Reviewed Publication

University of Oulu, Finland

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The new study from the University of Oulu provides, for the first time, evidence of the role of reindeer grazing in shaping winter climate change impacts on the carbon cycle. Image Noora Kantola / the University of Oulu

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Credit: Photo: Noora Kantola / University of Oulu

Winter climate change is affecting the carbon exchange of northern coniferous forests, but the response depends upon reindeer grazing, according to a new study from the University of Oulu, Finland. The study compared areas with ongoing reindeer grazing to areas where grazing has been excluded for 25 years at Oulanka and as long as 55 years at Kevo.

Northern forests store one third of the global carbon and act as sinks for atmospheric carbon dioxide. In addition to trees, understory vegetation and soil play a significant role in regulating carbon sinks. Climate change-induced alterations in snow depth and duration affect the carbon cycle not only in winter but also during the following growing season in summer. At the same time, reindeer grazing affects the carbon cycle, for example, by reducing the abundance of lichens in the understory.

Researchers at the University of Oulu have measured the impacts of snow cover and reindeer grazing on the carbon cycle in northern Finland’s coniferous forests during the growing seasons of 2019–2023. The experiments included areas with ongoing reindeer grazing as well as in areas where grazing has been excluded for 25 years at Oulanka in eastern Finland and for 55 years at Kevo in northernmost Finland. In addition, snow experiments of increased and decreased snow depth were carried out at each of these areas.

In the area where reindeer grazing had been excluded for 55 years, shallow snow increased carbon release from the understory and soil. In contrast, deeper snow decreased carbon release at this same location. In areas with ongoing grazing and in the 25-year-old exclosure, carbon release remained stable regardless of changes in snow cover.

It is notable that snow depth did not affect carbon exchange in areas with ongoing reindeer grazing. “Altogether, this could indicate that northern coniferous forests may be relatively well resistant to short-term changes in winter climate”, says Doctoral Researcher Noora Kantola.

According to the researchers it is important to investigate why changes in snow depth affected carbon exchange only in the 55 year absence of reindeer grazing at Kevo. “It is possible that at Kevo, the substantially recovered lichen cover has influenced soil temperature and moisture conditions. Together with changing snow depth, these factors may affect soil decomposers and thereby the amount of carbon released”, Kantola continues.

“Our results show that reindeer grazing can buffer ecosystem functions, such as carbon exchange, under changing climate conditions” explains Postdoctoral Researcher Maria Väisänen.

The new study from the University of Oulu provides, for the first time, evidence of the role of reindeer grazing has in shaping winter climate change impacts on the carbon cycle. The results provide perspective on the role of reindeer in sustaining the biodiversity of northern ecosystems. The lichen-mediated impacts of grazing on the understory carbon exchange of winter pastures can be significant”, summarizes Professor Jeffrey Welker

In addition to altering understory vegetation and soil, reindeer grazing can also affect tree carbon sequestration and overall forest carbon balance. At the University of Oulu, ongoing projects are investigating the combined impacts of grazing and long-term climate change trends on tree ring growth and ecophysiology.

The findings of the changes in carbon cycle help estimate ecosystem functions under changing conditions and can also inform land-use planning in coniferous forests where lichen cover has been altered by different land-use practices, such as reindeer grazing and forestry.

The experimental sites are part of EcoClimate system, which investigates the impacts of changing snow conditions on the functioning of northern ecosystems. Previously, reindeer grazing has been found to mitigate the impacts of summer climate change on carbon cycle in tundra ecosystems.

The study was published in July 2025 on Science of the Total Environment scientific journal: Kantola, N., Welker, J. M., Leffler, A. J., Lämsä, J., Paavola, R., Suominen O., and Väisänen, M. (2025). Impacts of winter climate change on northern forest understory carbon dioxide exchange determined by reindeer grazing.

Read also

Over one-third of the Arctic-boreal region is now a source of carbon dioxide

Kvantum Institute at the University of Oulu, Finland

Carbon dioxide emissions were monitored using measurement chambers, among other methods. Photo: Noora Kantola / University of Oulu

Credit

Photo: Noora Kantola / University of Oulu

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Journal

Science of The Total Environment

DOI

10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.180089 

Article Title

Science of the Total Environment

 

Early bears were omnivores: Three-dimensional jaw analyses reveal diet

Staatliche Naturwissenschaftliche Sammlungen Bayerns

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Lower jaw of Ursus minimus, Hungarian Natural History Museum, Budapest

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Credit: Mihály Gasparik, Hungarian Natural History Museum, Budapest

Ursus minimus – presumed to be the common ancestor of most modern bear species – lived in Europe between 4.9 and approximately 1.8 million years ago, during the Pliocene epoch and possibly into the early Pleistocene. The species represents the first black bears in Europe and the oldest known representative of the genus Ursus, which also includes today's brown and polar bears. Until now, researchers assumed that the ancient bear fed mainly on insects. A new study by SNSB zoologist Anneke van Heteren now paints a different picture: Ursus minimus, the so-called Auvergne bear, was most likely a typical omnivore – with no particular preference for insects. For her research, the mammal expert compared the jaws of Ursus minimus to those of other recent and extinct bear species with a range of diets – including specialists such as the insectivorous sun bear, the carnivorous polar bear, and the strictly vegetarian giant panda. The bear jaws have differing biomechanics when chewing food, depending on diet. Different jaw opening angles and the position of the chewing muscles reveal the animals' eating habits. The researcher from Munich used geometric morphometrics for her study. This involves measuring skeletal parts using digital measuring points, known as landmarks. This 3D shape analysis allows the jawbones of the bears to be visualized in three dimensions and compared using statistical methods.

"As a true omnivore, Ursus minimus was particularly flexible and adaptable and could easily adjust to changing food availability. This general adaptative strategy might have been the basis for the later evolution of specialized diets in other bear species. The findings on the dietary habits of such primitive species like Ursus minimus provide new insights into our understanding of the evolution of bears and their adaptability to changing environmental conditions," explains Anneke van Heteren, Curator of mammals at the Bavarian State Collection of Zoology (SNSB-ZSM) and author of the study.

Most modern as well as extinct bear species - with their entire range of different diets - can be traced back to the very primitive Ursus minimus.

Lower jaw of Ursus minimus and Helarctos mayalanus (Malayan sun bear), which actually feeds mainly on insects.

Credit

Mihály Gasparik, Hungarian Natural History Museum, Budapest

Measuring the bear's jaw with the Microscribe using digital measuring points, known as landmarks.

Credit

Anneke van Heteren, SNSB-ZS

Journal

Boreas

DOI

10.1111/bor.70036 

Method of Research

Data/statistical analysis

Subject of Research

Animals

Article Title

Exploring dietary adaptations in Ursus minimus: a 3D geometric morphometric analysis of the mandible

Article Publication Date

15-Sep-2025

 

Do fetal movements influence the level of attachment between mother and baby?

Research measured fetal movements in 51 pregnant women and found that higher frequencies were strongly linked to greater maternal attachment

BIAL Foundation

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Research measured fetal movements in 51 pregnant women and found that higher frequencies were strongly linked to greater maternal attachment. Paying conscious attention to these signals may be a non-invasive and effective strategy for strengthening prenatal attachment and promoting more attentive and sensitive caregiving after birth.

One of the earliest and most evident forms of fetal interaction with the environment is fetal movement, which gives the pregnant woman a sense of reassurance about the fetus’s health and development. At the same time, these movements contribute to the emotional attachment formed during pregnancy, known as maternal-fetal attachment (MFA), which helps create mental images of the baby and prepares for parenthood on an emotional level.

Previous studies have shown that counting fetal movements significantly enhances MFA scores and that mothers who perceive greater fetal movements tend to have higher MFA scores compared to those who perceive fewer. However, it is not yet clear whether this association results solely from the pregnant woman's subjective perception or whether there is indeed a measurable relationship between actual fetal activity and the emotional bond formed during pregnancy.

To address this question, researchers Kathy Ayala and Helena Rutherford led a study supported by the Bial Foundation, in which fetal movements of 51 pregnant women in their third trimester were recorded using an actocardiograph. MFA was assessed using the Prenatal Attachment Inventory-Revised questionnaire.

The study was presented in the article Associations between fetal movement and maternal-fetal attachment in late pregnancy, published in the scientific journal Early Human Development, which involved researchers from Yale University, Yale New Haven Hospital, and Weill Cornell Medical College (USA). The results showed that the more active the fetus is, the stronger the emotional bond tends to be between mother and baby. This relationship remained significant even when other factors that could influence bonding were considered, such as the mother's mood, gestational age, parity, or knowledge of the baby’s sex.

These findings reinforce the importance of fetal movements during pregnancy, not only as indicators of health but also as a form of communication that helps strengthen the emotional attachment between mother and child. Even when not consciously perceived, fetal movements appear to play an active role in creating this emotional connection. Paying attention to and interacting with the baby's movements (for example, through observation or simple emotional responses) can be a simple, natural, and non-invasive way to promote stronger bonding before birth. This attachment may positively impact postnatal caregiving, making it more attentive, sensitive, and emotionally attuned to the baby.

“Although our findings align with previous research, our work goes further by using objective measurements of fetal movements rather than relying solely on maternal perception”, explains Helena Rutherford. “By using a fetal actocardiograph, we were able to capture movements not perceived by the mother, allowing for a more rigorous and unbiased examination of the link between fetal activity and prenatal attachment”.

“Considering that MFA is associated with more engaged and stimulating mother-infant interactions after birth, understanding these prenatal associations offers valuable insights into how early psychological and relational processes shape development throughout the perinatal period”, elucidates the researcher.

Learn more about the project “111/16 - A psychophysiological perspective of the transformative experience of pregnancy” here.

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Journal

Early Human Development

DOI

10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2025.106351 

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Associations between fetal movement and maternal-fetal attachment in late pregnancy

Article Publication Date

3-Nov-2025