From contact lenses, glue, to even the inside of an aloe leaf, hydrogels are everywhere.

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Michael Webber wears a blue polo shirt in his laboratory at the University of Notre Dame.

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Eric Appel wears glasses and a red shirt outside on the Stanford University campus.

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Customizable hydrogels could make taking diabetes and cancer medications as well as other biologics easier for patients.

A squishy solution for smoother drug delivery

Articles

A microscopic view of a family of four tardigrades of the species Hypsibius exemplaris swimming in a water droplet.

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Tyler Gonzalez points to a tardigrade in its tun state on a computer monitor attached to a microscope in Thomas Boothby’s laboratory at the University of Wyoming. Shraddha KC sits at the microscope and looks at the monitor.

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Kazuharu Arakawa stands in front of multiple computer servers with a stuffed brown tardigrade on his shoulder.

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Roger Chang stands next to a lab bench in his laboratory at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine

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A microscopic view of a tardigrade is shown over a black background. Fluorescent green and red markers tag specific proteins in the tardigrade’s cells.

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Gary Pielak stands next to a microscope in his laboratory at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, holding a blue plushy tardigrade.

Tardigrades survive heat, freezing, and even space radiation. Now, researchers translate lessons learned from these creatures into more stable drug formulations and new health insights.

Tardigrades protect proteins on the brink of death

Maria Croyle holds up a small circular thin film in her research laboratory.

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Croyle uses forceps to pick up one of her thin films out of a package that looks similar to a contact lens container.

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Croyle peels open the packaging of her thin film technology in her laboratory.

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Maria Croyle holds up a single sheet of her thin film technology in front of her face while standing in her research laboratory.

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Most vaccines and biologics must stay cold until ready for use, but new thin film technology stabilizes these therapeutics for months at room temperature.

No need for a cold chain with these thin films

On the left, a hypodermic needle, and on the right, a round microarray patch (about a centimeter in diameter) on a light blue background.

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close-up of a hand holding a square microneedle vaccine patch on a round, beige backing, with a man’s face out of focus in the background.

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A person in a lab coat applies a beige microneedle vaccine patch to the back of the hand of a person in a red sweater.

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Microarray, or microneedle, patches could boost vaccine access in low- and middle-income countries.

Tiny needles make a big impact for vaccine delivery

News

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December 2025

Fluorescent-style illustration of spherical embryonic stem cells clustered together against a dark background.

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Lonza

Explore how emerging <em>in vitro</em> systems &mdash; built from primary cells, cocultures, and vascularized tissues &mdash; are improving translational research outcomes.&nbsp;

Advancing predictive <em id="isPasted">in vitro</em> models

Webinars

3D illustration of ciliated cells, with cilia shown in blue.

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Syncell

Ultraprecise proteomic analysis reveals new insights into the molecular machinery of cilia.

Mapping the hidden proteome of elusive organelles

Application Note

3D illustration showing a DNA double helix encapsulated in a transparent capsule, surrounded by abstract white and orange protein-like molecular structures against a blue background.

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Agilent Technologies

Discover an integrated analytical approach that unites identification, purification, and stability assessment for therapeutic molecules.

cold chain

A squishy solution for smoother drug delivery

Tardigrades protect proteins on the brink of death

No need for a cold chain with these thin films

Tiny needles make a big impact for vaccine delivery

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December 2025