In a study published in Nature Communications, researchers from the University of York synthesised over 700 complex metal compounds in just one week. This rapid screening process identified a promising new iridium-based antibiotic candidate that kills bacteria while remaining non-toxic to human cells.

Researchers have developed a new way to decipher the language of the brain by listening to and recording the fastest and faintest communications signals of neurons. This allows scientists to watch neurons talk to each other in real time. Until now, detecting these incoming signals in living brain tissue was nearly impossible; but now, researchers can hear the entire conversation rather than fragments of it.

A Perspective in National Science Review outlines a new paradigm for fully automated processor chip design. By combining domain-specific large language models, automatic correctness repair and performance-driven search, the framework aims to automatically generate reliable, high-performance processors tailored to diverse applications.

Researchers have developed a fiber neural network system that performs intelligent processing of optical communication signals directly in the light domain. This approach integrates optical transmission with optical computing, significantly improving processing efficiency and reducing power consumption for tasks like modulation format recognition.

Their results could guide the development of healthier and more productive wheat lines.

In the International Journal of Extreme Manufacturing, researchers reported a multi-material, multi-module microrobot to overcome this limit. Using femtosecond laser direct writing to pattern and integrate different materials at the micrometer scale, their three-dimensional, hand-shaped microrobot can grab, carry and release microscopic objects that single-material systems cannot achieve.