Water is an essential element for life. A minimum of 5L/day of drinking water is required for a person to survive with normal activities.[1] Currently, 2.1 billion people globally have limited access to safe drinking water. Additionally, about 6% of deaths in underdeveloped countries are caused by drinking unsafe water.[2] To address water scarcity, the research community has proposed a variety of

In recent times, plastic pollution has become the focus of public and scientific interest, and microplastics in particular have been a subject of concern. This special issue, introduced in article 2000026, discusses different angles of this global challenge, including its potential risks to humans and the ecological impact. Cover credit: Christian Laforsch.

In article 1900079, Jie Shang, Run‐Wei Li, and co‐workers report a wearable capacitive sensor that can monitor human physiological signals (pulse and respiratory) in the non‐contact mode. This is achieved by using asymmetrical ring/disk‐shaped conductive material and low‐dielectric porous material to enhance the capacitive coupling effect.

The success of plastic as a material has shaped the development of modern society and challenged older materials in many of their established uses. However, plastic is now a major component of litter and is extensively reported within the marine environment. Impacts from plastic debris have been identified as a major global conservation issue with implications for maritime industries, tourism, marine

In article number 2000001, Jurgen Kosel and co‐workers design a wearable, flexible piezoresistive graphene sensor by a facile, one‐step laser‐printing fabrication process. The sensors feature long‐term stability, biocompatibility, and a low detection limit in combination with an extensive dynamic range. They can function as wearable artificial skins, monitors for heart rate or plantar pressure, or

Wearable sensors are gradually enabling decentralized healthcare systems. However, these sensors need to be closely attached to skin, which is unsuitable for long‐term dynamic health monitoring of the patients, such as infants or persons with burn injuries. Here, a wearable capacitive sensor based on the capacitively coupled effect for healthcare monitoring in noncontact mode is reported. It consists