Neuromorphic computing, inspired by the human brain, offers a path to faster and more efficient AI. In a pioneering breakthrough, Chinese scientists demonstrate the first use of perovskite microcavity exciton-polariton as a platform for neuromorphic computing, achieving 92% accuracy in digit recognition with single-step training. Operating at room temperature and driven by strong optical nonlinearity, the system enables ultrafast and power-efficient computation—paving the way for next-generation light-based intelligent hardware.

When a water-based polymer solution dries, the liquid surface splits in uneven, unpredictable ways—a phenomenon called symmetry breaking. Using a natural polymer in a controlled drying setting, researchers from JAIST, Japan, identified that the irregular patterns in symmetry breaking don’t just form by chance but follow hidden physical rules. This discovery offers new insight into how asymmetric patterns in nature form and could impact fields from material design to biological development.

A Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) research team led by Prof. SUN Jianwei and Prof. LIN Zhenyang from the Department of Chemistry has developed a catalytic enantioselective type II [5 + 2] cycloaddition method to address the challenges of synthesizing chiral bridged polycyclic structures, particularly those with a bridged seven-membered subunit. This innovative approach utilizes 3-oxidopyrylium ylides to create the desired complex shapes, paving the way for more applications in the rapid synthesis and diversification of other valuable complex molecules, including important natural products and drug molecules.

Most stars in the Universe exist in binary or multiple star systems, where the presence of close-in companion stars in such systems can adversely influence the formation and orbital stability of planets around one of the stars. An international team of astrophysicists led by Professor Man Hoi LEE from the Department of Earth Sciences and the Department of Physics at The University of Hong Kong (HKU) and Mr Ho Wan CHENG, an MPhil student in his team, has confirmed the existence of a planet in an unprecedented retrograde orbit (moving in the opposite direction to the binary’s orbit) in the nu Octantis (nu Octantis) binary star system and revealed the role of binary star evolution in the origin of this planet. The findings have been published in the journal Nature.

A groundbreaking technique developed by Politecnico di Milano researchers is enabling scientists to control specific bacterial functions using light-sensitive materials. The Engineering Of bacteria to See light (EOS) project, funded by the European Research Council (ERC), has pioneered a system that allows bacteria to sense light and convert light energy into electrical signals across their membranes without the need for any genetic modification. This method is being explored as a promising solution to the growing global challenge of antibiotic resistance.

Its potential applications include developing next-generation antimicrobial platforms, where light is used to target resistant pathogens, and biocompatible, light-guided “bacterial robots” capable of delivering drugs to specific areas of the body, even those that are typically difficult to reach, such as the gastrointestinal tract.