Researchers at Aalto University have overcome a major obstacle to faster, more efficient photonic chips using "nanoscale surgery" to sculpt van der Waals materials without destroying them. The light trapping result surpasses previous vdW resonant systems by three orders of magnitude, representing a dramatic advance for the field.

The novel sh2isu1 sweet corn germplasm resource perfectly addresses the issues of insufficient flavor in super sweet maize and low sugar content in common sweet corn. Its excellent characteristics can directly serve the high-end specialty maize breeding system.

A new study from China reports a breakthrough metasurface-enabled terahertz (THz) imaging and spectroscopy platform that overcomes the limitations of the slow, sequential data acquisition process. Utilizing quasi-bound states in the continuum (q-BICs), the system enables ultrafast, nanosecond-scale image reconstruction with high accuracy. According to the authors, this compact, scalable, and circuit-free approach opens new possibilities for advanced sensing, high-resolution imaging, and next-generation photonic technologies across security, semiconductor, and pharmaceutical applications.

Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) is working with China’s Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) and Swedish biotechnology company Lipigon Pharmaceuticals AB to develop a new inhaled treatment aimed at helping patients recover faster from severe lung infections. The treatment is designed to reduce excessive inflammation in the lungs, which can continue even after viruses or bacteria have been cleared from the body. To tackle this, the new therapy targets a protein called Angiopoietin-like protein 4 (ANGPTL4), which increases during inflammatory stress in the lungs. High levels of ANGPTL4 are associated with increased vascular permeability and fibrosis in injured lung tissue. Instead of being taken as a pill or injection, the treatment is delivered directly into the lungs by inhalation, similar to how asthma medications are administered. This allows it to act where it is needed most while limiting effects on the rest of the body.

A recent study published in the Journal of Bioresources and Bioproducts reports the development of a water-soluble cellulose ethyl phosphite (CEP) adhesive synthesized via a CO₂-based solvent system. The adhesive exhibits high bonding strength (up to 5.73 MPa), stability under extreme temperatures ranging from –196 °C to 100 °C, and resistance to high humidity environments. Notably, its water solubility enables reversible bonding and material recovery, addressing a long-standing limitation in bio-based adhesives. These results position CEP as a promising candidate for sustainable materials engineering and circular bioeconomy applications.

In International Journal of Extreme Manufacturing, researchers at the University of Science and Technology Beijing developed a machine learning framework to perfect the laser settings during the 3d printing, reducing internal crack density by 99% and boosting the metal's high-temperature strength well beyond that of traditional cast components.