Chinese scientists have discovered that fragile swamp forests in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region suddenly collapsed around 2.1 thousand years ago (ka)—with human activity as the cause.

Chinese scientists have found a way to make flexible tandem solar cells more efficient and durable by enhancing the adhesion of top layers to the bottom layers of the cell.

A team of scientists led by Prof. LIU Zhaoping at the Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering (NIMTE) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in collaboration with researchers from the University of Chicago and other institutions, has developed zero thermal expansion (ZTE) materials. This innovation has achieved nearly 100% voltage recovery in aging lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), as detailed in a study published in Nature.

In a breakthrough that brings nanoscience one step closer to precise control of chemical reactions, a team of researchers from the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) has consecutively removed the innermost atom and the outermost electron of a gold nanoparticle—without disturbing its overall structure. This precise manipulation allowed them to probe how the magnetic spin of the material influences its catalytic activity.

Huanglongbing (HLB) is a devastating citrus disease. Prof. YE Jian's team at the Institute of Microbiology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has identified the first citrus resistance mechanism to HLB and developed antimicrobial peptides effective against the disease using artificial intelligence (AI) technology.

A research team from the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has identified a fossil acanthocephalan, Juracanthocephalus, from the 160-million-year-old Daohugou Biota in Inner Mongolia, China.