Energy harvesting is an active area of research that aims to recover and reuse energy that otherwise goes waste. Heat, for example, is a one such energy drain. On a level considered significant, heat loss accompanies large scale industrial manufacturing, processes that generate and transport energy, as well as installations such as large data centres. Several technologies attempt to harvest part of this waste heat and put them to reuse. The enterprise of thermoelectrics is one such technology, and thermoelectric devices that make use of organic semiconductors are often spoken of as having much promise. This is down to their composition from earth abundant elements, their ability to be cheaply manufactured, and their ability to be deployed over large areas.

The author summarized the traditional and emerging methods for circRNA detection as well as the advantages and limitations, and look forward to future research directions.

Recently, a research team led by Professor JIANG Changlong at the Institute of Solid State Physics, the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, has developed a new donor-acceptor (D-A) type fluorescent dye called AFL. This dye changes its fluorescence color and intensity depending on solvent polarity and temperature, making it useful for quick visual monitoring.

A collaborated team led by researchers from the Institute of Solid State Physics, the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Acadamy of Sciences, enables the efficient construction of gold microsphere array-based anisotropic conductive adhesives film (ACF) for advanced packaging. 

A research team led by associate Prof. YIN Lihua from Institute of Solid State physics, the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences developed a new route based on lattice disorder effect to improve electrocaloric effect in BaTiO₃-based systems.

Researchers Samuel Poincloux (currently at Aoyama Gakuin University) and Kazumasa A. Takeuchi of the University of Tokyo have clarified the conditions under which large numbers of “squishy” grains, which can change their shape in response to external forces, transition from acting like a solid to acting like a liquid. Similar transitions occur in many biological processes, including the development of an embryo: cells are “squishy” biological “grains” that form solid tissues and sometimes flow to form different organs. Thus, the experimental and theoretical framework elaborated here will help separate the roles of mechanical and biochemical processes, a critical challenge in biology. The findings were published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).