A research paper by scientists at Cortical Labs investigate the complex network dynamics of in vitro neural systems using DishBrain, which integrates live neural cultures with high-density multi-electrode arrays in real-time, closed-loop game environments..

The research paper, published on Aug 4, 2025 in the journal Cyborg and Bionic Systems.

Blueberry plants host diverse fungal communities on their aboveground tissues, yet how these communities shift across flower and fruit development has remained unclear. 

Three innovations developed by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) and its startups have achieved remarkable success at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) Innovation Awards 2026, garnering three prestigious Innovation Awards for their cutting-edge research and development achievements. Among the award-winning projects, the Smart Firefighting Robots received the highest score in the “Products in Support of Human Security for All” category, earning the coveted “Best of Innovation Award”, the best result PolyU has achieved since first participating in the event. PolyU is committed to nurturing startups through its unique PolyVentures innovation ecosystem. These outstanding results are a testament to the University’s dedication to world-leading research and innovation, as well as its efforts to translate research excellence into impactful solutions that benefit society.

A research paper by scientists at the Capital Medical University evaluated sex differences in stroke recurrence among patients with symptomatic intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis (sICAS) and assess the efficacy of remote ischemic conditioning (RIC) in the RICA (chronic remote ischemic conditioning in patients with symptomatic intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis) trial.

The new research paper, published on Jun. 6 in the journal Cyborg and Bionic Systems, evaluated 3,033 sICAS patients across 84 Chinese stroke centers, with a median follow-up of 3.5 years. The findings highlight the need to consider sex in clinical decision-making for RIC administration.

In the past few years, rapid development has been witnessed in spacecraft formation to complete complex missions instead of the traditional single spacecraft. Spacecraft formation refers to a spatial distribution of a group composed of 2 or more spacecraft without physical contact. Those who join in the formation are called member spacecraft. There exists certain communication relationship between member spacecraft. The spacecraft formation is able to complete the tasks related to the target cooperatively through the collaborative control strategies. The formation offers low cost, strong reliability, and high flexibility in comparison to a single spacecraft for executing the mission. This has garnered considerable attention and warrants investigation. However, little research has discussed spacecraft formation to surround a noncooperative target with unknown dynamics. It is still challenging for the surrounding control to enclose the target with unknown dynamics that refers to the target’s orbit maneuver.In the past few years, rapid development has been witnessed in spacecraft formation to complete complex missions instead of the traditional single spacecraft. Spacecraft formation refers to a spatial distribution of a group composed of 2 or more spacecraft without physical contact. Those who join in the formation are called member spacecraft. There exists certain communication relationship between member spacecraft. The spacecraft formation is able to complete the tasks related to the target cooperatively through the collaborative control strategies. The formation offers low cost, strong reliability, and high flexibility in comparison to a single spacecraft for executing the mission. This has garnered considerable attention and warrants investigation. However, little research has discussed spacecraft formation to surround a noncooperative target with unknown dynamics. It is still challenging for the surrounding control to enclose the target with unknown dynamics that refers to the target’s orbit maneuver.

Diabetes is not just about elevated blood glucose levels. It is a chronic condition capable of inflicting slow, irreversible harm throughout the body.Lifestyle plays a major role in diabetes development, yet genetics also matters. Today, advanced genetic sequencing technologies such as Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) offer a clearer window into inherited risk long before symptoms appear. For individuals with a family history, this insight supports earlier lifestyle changes, more frequent monitoring, and more personalised prevention strategies.

Emerging evidence reveals that dysregulated autophagy, particularly the selective degradation of lipid droplets (lipophagy), is crucial to maintaining hepatic lipid balance, yet how its activity is regulated under different metabolic conditions has long been an open question.

A research team led by Prof. HU Weijin from the Institute of Metal Research (IMR) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), in collaboration with partners, has developed a one-second fabrication method for wafer-scale energy storage capacitors that achieves astonishing heating and cooling rates of up to 1,000 °C per second. 

Undesired ice accumulation on infrastructure and transportation systems leads to catastrophic events and significant economic losses. Although various anti-icing surfaces with photothermal effects can initially prevent icing, any thawy droplets remaining on the horizontal surface can quickly re-freezing once the light diminishes. To address these challenges, we have developed a self-draining slippery surface (SDSS) that enables the thawy droplets to self-remove on the horizontal surface, thereby facilitating real-time anti-icing with the aid of sunlight (100 mW cm⁻²). This is achieved by sandwiching a thin pyroelectric layer between slippery surface and photothermal film. Due to the synergy between the photothermal and pyroelectric layers, the SDSS not only maintains a high surface temperature of 19.8 ± 2.2 °C at the low temperature ( −20.0 ± 1.0 °C), but also generates amount of charge through thermoelectric coupling. Thus, as cold droplets dropped on the SDSS, electrostatic force pushes the droplets off the charged surface because of the charge transfer mechanism. Even if the surface freezes overnight, the ice can melt and drain off the SDSS within 10 min of exposure to sunlight at  −20.0 ± 1.0 °C, leaving a clean surface. This work provides a new perspective on the anti-icing system in the real-world environments.