The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) is committed to promoting interdisciplinary research and transforming scientific achievements into impactful inventions to meet the rapidly changing demands in areas such as healthcare. 16 PolyU projects have received support from the Health and Medical Research Fund (HMRF) in its latest funding exercise, with a total funding amount of HK$14.3 million. These projects cover various research areas related to health technology and biomedical engineering, showcasing PolyU’s interdisciplinary proficiency in medical and healthcare research.

In a recent study, scientists have introduced an innovative imaging technique that provides an unparalleled view of the bone marrow’s intricate structure, focusing on leptin receptor-expressing (LepR+) stromal cells. 

The Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST), commonly known as China’s "artificial sun," has achieved a remarkable scientific milestone by maintaining steady-state high-confinement plasma operation for an impressive 1,066 seconds. This accomplishment, reached on Monday, sets a new world record and marks a significant breakthrough in the pursuit of fusion power generation.

Cellular senescence, where cells permanently stop dividing, plays a complex role in liver health. In a recent review article, researchers from China examined the mechanisms behind senescence, its impact on liver cells, and its contribution to liver diseases like metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. The review also highlights the potential of senolytic therapies, which target senescent cells to reduce damage, offering hope for improved liver disease treatments.

Scientists from China have developed high-performance colloidal quantum-dot (CQD)  surface-emitting laser array based on circular Bragg resonator (CBR). The CQD CBR laser array, leveraging high-quality CQD material with low gain threshold and high stability and CBR cavity with strong optical confinement, features a low lasing threshold, high pixel density (2100 PPI), and a remarkable 1000-hour operation lifetime (3.63 × 10⁸ pulses) at room temperature, promising advancements for practical CQD laser applications in the future.

The authors explored the recombination dynamics and defect concentration of a mixed cation mixed halide perovskite Cs_0.17FA_0.83PbI_1.8Br_1.2 with 1.75 eV bandgap after exposure to a gamma-ray source (2.5 Gy/min). The manuscript shed light on the use of the wide bandgap perovskite Cs_0.17FA_0.83PbI_1.8Br_1.2 as a material for tandem solar cells with potential applications in a space environment.

Researchers in China have proposed and experimentally demonstrated a revolutionary metamaterial agent, termed metaAgent. This intelligent EM system integrates reasoning and cognitive capabilities, enabling autonomous task planning and execution in real-time environments. Unlike traditional metamaterials that rely on predefined functionalities, metaAgent leverages deep learning and foundation models to reason in natural language and interact with both humans and robots. It masters complex EM manipulation tasks, opening new frontiers for cognition radar, human-robot interaction within future smart environments, and so on.

Researchers propose a novel mechanism for non-reciprocal optical devices without magnetic fields through nonlinear non-reciprocal susceptibility. They experimentally achieved self-induced isolation of optical signals, demonstrating high isolation ratio (63.4 dB), wide bandwidth (2.1 GHz), and low insertion loss (1 dB). The innovation enables passive isolation through asymmetry cavity, allowing a weak signal to control stronger backward laser. This advancement has implications for topological photonics and quantum information transfer.

Optical sectioning enables precise 3D imaging by extracting signals in focus and eliminating out-of-focus backgrounds. Scientists in China review various optical sectioning methods from the perspective of off-axis and coaxial imaging, assess the performance, and provide guidance on their applications. Finally, it discusses the advantages of off-axis separated detection over coaxial imaging and the versatility of a single system to accommodate diverse sectioning methods, potentially revolutionizing 3D bioimaging.

A new study explores the integration of biopolymers with polyacrylic acid hydrogels, highlighting their potential applications in bioresources and bioproducts. This research offers insights into the development of sustainable and functional biomaterials for various fields, including flexible electronics and biosensing.