Dr. Jongkil Park and his team of the Semiconductor Technology Research Center at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) have presented a new approach that mimics the brain's learning principles. The team engineered the principle of spike-timing-dependent plasticity (STDP), in which the brain adjusts the strength of connections based on the order of signal firing between neurons. This allows them to learn the connectivity in a brain's neural network in real-time without having to store the activity of all the neurons.

Professor Tonggang Jiu's team at Shandong University achieved a significant improvement in the efficiency and stability of perovskite solar cells by regulating the NiO_x/perovskite interface chemistry by introducing a novel self-assembling molecule, (4-(2,7-dibromo-9,9-dimethylacridin-10(9H)-yl)butylphosphonic acid (2Br-4PADMAc), into the NiO_x/perovskite interface. This effectively suppressed Ni^>3+ generation and interfacial redox reactions, optimized energy level matching, and promoted high-quality film crystallization. Compared to the traditional molecule 2PACz, 2Br-4PADMAc exhibits stronger interfacial anchoring and a larger molecular dipole moment, which can improve hole transport efficiency and reduce PbI₂ accumulation. The inverse perovskite solar cell modified with this molecule achieved a photoelectric conversion efficiency of 25.28% and excellent stability. This research provides a new strategy for optimizing the efficiency and stability of NiO_x-based perovskite solar cells through interfacial molecule design. The article was published as an open access research article in CCS Chemistry, the flagship journal of the Chinese Chemical Society.

A research team from Harbin Institute of Technology has developed a new solar driven photocatalyst that uses industrial sulfite waste to rapidly break down toxic dyes in wastewater. The study demonstrates a sustainable approach that improves water quality while transforming an abundant industrial by product into a valuable resource.

In a groundbreaking exploration of the environmental impacts of fires, researchers are shedding light on how gaseous smoke pollutants affect both air and soil quality. This critical study, titled "Impact of Gaseous Smoke Pollutants from Modelled Fires on Air and Soil Quality," is spearheaded by Mikhail Nizhelskiy from the Academy of Biology and Biotechnology Named After D.I. Ivanovskiy at Southern Federal University in Rostov-on-Don, Russian Federation. His work offers a deeper understanding of the often-overlooked consequences of fires on our environment.

Pedagogical chatbots, which have become more capable and widely available with the rise of generative AI, promise to transform personalized learning at scale by providing individualized, on-demand support to students. But generative AI is not without fault. Sometimes chatbots make mistakes, provide incomplete information, invent facts, or misconstrue logic, which may harm their users’ learning. A new study sheds light on whether users can detect those errors and suggests ways to improve AI-powered teaching. 

Anthocyanins are major pigments responsible for the vivid colors of ornamental flowers. 

Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) is a highly contagious human herpesvirus responsible for chickenpox upon primary infection and shingles upon viral reactivation. While Varicella-zoster immune globulin (VZIG) can offer post-exposure protection for high-risk individuals, structural insights into neutralizing antibodies (nAbs) derived from natural infection remain limited. Glycoprotein E (gE), the most abundant and immunogenic envelope protein of VZV, plays an essential role in viral infection and is the sole antigen in the recombinant zoster vaccine.

As China’s poultry industry is rapidly moving towards standardization and large-scale development, high-yield breeds in large-scale farms are particularly sensitive to environmental changes.