@article{21721,
  abstract     = {Swimming bacteria move through a fluid by actuating their moving body parts. They are force-free and can be described as hydrodynamic force dipoles: pushers or pullers. This modelling description is broadly used in biological physics and active matter research, and it has successfully predicted, for example, the superfluid behaviour of suspensions of pushers or the bend instability and emergence of turbulent flows in active nematics. However, this description accounts only for the translational motion of the swimming body and neglects the effects of hydrodynamic torque dipoles, which are relevant to bacteria with rotary motor-driven flagella, such as swimming Escherichia coli. Here we show that the torque dipole of confined swimming E. coli can power the persistent rotation of symmetric discs. The torque dipole leads to a traction force on the discs, an additive mechanism that is both contactless and independent of the orientation of the bacteria. Our results indicate that the torque dipole of swimming E. coli is notable in confined geometries, which is relevant to bacterial transport through porous materials, biofilms and the development of chiral fluids.},
  author       = {Grober, Daniel B and Dhar, Tanumoy and Saintillan, David and Palacci, Jérémie A},
  issn         = {1745-2481},
  journal      = {Nature Physics},
  pages        = {620--627},
  publisher    = {Springer Nature},
  title        = {{The hydrodynamic torque dipole from rotary bacterial flagella powers symmetric discs}},
  doi          = {10.1038/s41567-026-03189-4},
  volume       = {22},
  year         = {2026},
}

@article{19998,
  abstract     = {nspired by Richard Feynman’s 1959 lecture and the 1966 film Fantastic Voyage, the field of micro/nanorobots has evolved from science fiction to reality, with significant advancements in biomedical and environmental applications. Despite the rapid progress, the deployment of functional micro/nanorobots remains limited. This review of the technology roadmap identifies key challenges hindering their widespread use, focusing on propulsion mechanisms, fundamental theoretical aspects, collective behavior, material design, and embodied intelligence. We explore the current state of micro/nanorobot technology, with an emphasis on applications in biomedicine, environmental remediation, analytical sensing, and other industrial technological aspects. Additionally, we analyze issues related to scaling up production, commercialization, and regulatory frameworks that are crucial for transitioning from research to practical applications. We also emphasize the need for interdisciplinary collaboration to address both technical and nontechnical challenges, such as sustainability, ethics, and business considerations. Finally, we propose a roadmap for future research to accelerate the development of micro/nanorobots, positioning them as essential tools for addressing grand challenges and enhancing the quality of life.},
  author       = {Ju, Xiaohui and Chen, Chuanrui and Oral, Cagatay M. and Sevim, Semih and Golestanian, Ramin and Sun, Mengmeng and Bouzari, Negin and Lin, Xiankun and Urso, Mario and Nam, Jong Seok and Cho, Yujang and Peng, Xia and Landers, Fabian C. and Yang, Shihao and Adibi, Azin and Taz, Nahid and Wittkowski, Raphael and Ahmed, Daniel and Wang, Wei and Magdanz, Veronika and Medina-Sánchez, Mariana and Guix, Maria and Bari, Naimat and Behkam, Bahareh and Kapral, Raymond and Huang, Yaxin and Tang, Jinyao and Wang, Ben and Morozov, Konstantin and Leshansky, Alexander and Abbasi, Sarmad Ahmad and Choi, Hongsoo and Ghosh, Subhadip and Borges Fernandes, Bárbara and Battaglia, Giuseppe and Fischer, Peer and Ghosh, Ambarish and Jurado Sánchez, Beatriz and Escarpa, Alberto and Martinet, Quentin and Palacci, Jérémie A and Lauga, Eric and Moran, Jeffrey and Ramos-Docampo, Miguel A. and Städler, Brigitte and Herrera Restrepo, Ramón Santiago and Yossifon, Gilad and Nicholas, James D. and Ignés-Mullol, Jordi and Puigmartí-Luis, Josep and Liu, Yutong and Zarzar, Lauren D. and Shields, C. Wyatt and Li, Longqiu and Li, Shanshan and Ma, Xing and Gracias, David H. and Velev, Orlin and Sánchez, Samuel and Esplandiu, Maria Jose and Simmchen, Juliane and Lobosco, Antonio and Misra, Sarthak and Wu, Zhiguang and Li, Jinxing and Kuhn, Alexander and Nourhani, Amir and Maric, Tijana and Xiong, Ze and Aghakhani, Amirreza and Mei, Yongfeng and Tu, Yingfeng and Peng, Fei and Diller, Eric and Sakar, Mahmut Selman and Sen, Ayusman and Law, Junhui and Sun, Yu and Pena-Francesch, Abdon and Villa, Katherine and Li, Huaizhi and Fan, Donglei Emma and Liang, Kang and Huang, Tony Jun and Chen, Xiang-Zhong and Tang, Songsong and Zhang, Xueji and Cui, Jizhai and Wang, Hong and Gao, Wei and Kumar Bandari, Vineeth and Schmidt, Oliver G. and Wu, Xianghua and Guan, Jianguo and Sitti, Metin and Nelson, Bradley J. and Pané, Salvador and Zhang, Li and Shahsavan, Hamed and He, Qiang and Kim, Il-Doo and Wang, Joseph and Pumera, Martin},
  issn         = {1936-086X},
  journal      = {ACS Nano},
  number       = {27},
  pages        = {24174--24334},
  publisher    = {American Chemical Society},
  title        = {{Technology roadmap of micro/nanorobots}},
  doi          = {10.1021/acsnano.5c03911},
  volume       = {19},
  year         = {2025},
}

@article{20708,
  abstract     = {In equilibrium, the physical properties of matter are set by the interactions between the constituents. In contrast, the energy input of the individual components controls the behavior of synthetic or living active matter. Great progress has been made in understanding the emergent phenomena in active fluids, though their inability to resist shear forces hinders their practical use. This motivates the exploration of active solids as shape-shifting materials, yet, we lack controlled synthetic systems to devise active solids with unconventional properties. Here we build active elastic beams from dozens of active colloids and unveil complex emergent behaviors such as self-oscillations or persistent rotations. Developing tensile tests at the microscale, we show that the active beams are ultrasoft materials, with large (nonequilibrium) fluctuations. Combining experiments, theory, and stochastic inference, we show that the dynamics of the active beams can be mapped on different phase transitions which are tuned by boundary conditions. More quantitatively, we assess all relevant parameters by independent measurements or first-principles calculations, and find that our theoretical description agrees with the experimental observations. Our results demonstrate that the simple addition of activity to an elastic beam unveils novel physics and can inspire design strategies for active solids and functional microscopic machines.},
  author       = {Martinet, Quentin and Li, Yuting I and Aubret, A. and Hannezo, Edouard B and Palacci, Jérémie A},
  issn         = {2160-3308},
  journal      = {Physical Review X},
  number       = {4},
  publisher    = {American Physical Society},
  title        = {{Emergent dynamics of active elastic microbeams}},
  doi          = {10.1103/rjk2-q2wh},
  volume       = {15},
  year         = {2025},
}