A research team has developed a new type of battery component that results in safer and higher-capacity batteries. It can improve lithium metal batteries’ safety, reliability, and electrochemical performance. Their work provides a feasible molecular engineering strategy for developing safe, high-performance lithium metal batteries.

Wind-assisted propulsion systems (WAPS) can convert naturally available wind energy directly into additional thrust, reducing ships’ dependence on conventional fuels. A new techno-economic review examines four major systems: rotor sails, boundary-layer control sails, wing sails and kite sails, and evaluates their aerodynamic principles, industrial readiness, design requirements, operational risks and lifecycle impacts. The authors also identify nine research priorities for turning promising performance estimates into safe, measurable and commercially viable emissions reductions.

Shanghai, July 18--At the "AI for the Real World" forum during the 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC), YUAN Yang, Associate Professor at Tsinghua University's Institute for Interdisciplinary Information Sciences, delivered a keynote speech--Calculus of Intelligence: A Theoretical Framework for Agents and unveiled iFuture, a new academic journal focusing on artificial intelligence(AI), alongside its supporting platform, Oscholar, demonstrating a fresh approach to academic publishing and research paradigms in the age of AI.

Dual-atom catalysts (DACs) show great promise in catalyzing oxygen reduction/evolution reactions (ORR/OER), yet facing significant challenges in achieving simultaneous high catalytic activity and stability in zinc–air batteries (ZABs). In this study, we synthesized a porous three-dimensional carbon aerogel anchored with atomically isolated FeN₄/NiN₄ dual sites and Ru₆ nanoclusters (FeN₄–Ru₆–NiN₄@PCA) to address these challenges. The adjacent Ru₆ nanoclusters effectively regulate the geometric structures of FeN₄ and NiN₄ sites and catalyze the formation of a highly graphitic carbon matrix. These structural features endow FeN₄–Ru₆–NiN₄@PCA with remarkable ORR/OER activity and stability, outperforming counterparts with only FeN₄/NiN₄ dual species and benchmark Pt/C and RuO₂ catalysts. Density functional theory calculations reveal that Ru6 clusters induce obvious electron redistribution of FeN₄/NiN₄ sites and optimize their electron transfer to the key oxygen intermediates (OH*) at the rate-determining steps, thereby accelerating the ORR and OER kinetics. When employed FeN₄–Ru₆–NiN₄@PCA as the cathode catalyst in ZABs, the resulting ZAB delivers a peak power density of 197.76 mW cm^–2 and demonstrates outstanding cycling stability over 2000 h, highlighting its great potential for use in applications of energy storage device.

The study analyzed data from 514 smallholder farmers involved in Climate-Smart Villages in Guatemala and Honduras. 

The findings show that trust among farmers is a key factor in increasing the likelihood of knowledge sharing about climate-smart agricultural practices. 

The research found that mutual support is particularly important in communities with low levels of trust, helping to sustain the flow of knowledge among farmers. 

Published in Science, an international study with the contribution of Politecnico di Milano: carbon dioxide can be used as an oxygen source in a key reaction for the production of molecules useful to the chemical, pharmaceutical and materials industries