Engineering & Technology

Successful selection of compounds inhibiting the function of a transcription factor

Distinguished Professor Nae-Lih Wu and his research team from NTU Chemical Engineering Department recently published a review paper- "Lithium-ion Battery Electrolyte Additives: Classification by Elements" in a top-ranked international journal: Progress in Materials Science (2023 IF: 33.6)

Propylene production harnesses biodiesel waste byproduct

Researchers from Osaka University have designed and synthesized a new organic semiconductor for organic solar cells (OSCs). By adding specific side units to their structure, they achieved separation between the frontier molecular orbitals, leading to lower exciton binding energy and increased power conversion efficiency. This tuning of the design of an acceptor component is expected to increase the performance of OSCs leading to more effective large-scale photovoltaic systems and new devices.

Seaweed helps brain health, Whales in long-distance relationships, Jumpstarting male fertility, Demystifying black hole turbulence, Shrimp to steel & Mpox Resources. Read all in the latest Editor's Choice.

Researchers from Osaka University fabricated copolymers with chiral backbones based on indacenodithiophene. Spin-coated films of the copolymers behaved differently toward currents with opposite polarization, resulting in chirality-induced spin selectivity. The magnitude of this selectivity was quantified as a spin polarization of almost 70%, which is among the highest achieved to date for a chiral polymer. These chiral copolymer films are attractive for use as spin filters in spintronics applications.

This study reports the first attempt to characterize the quality, defects, and strain of as-grown monolayer transition metal dichalcogenide (IMDC)-based 2D materials through exciton anisotropy. A standard ellipsometric parameter (Ψ) to observe anisotropic exciton behavior in monolayer 2D materials is used. According to the strong exciton effect from phonon-electron coupling processes, the change in the exciton in the Van Hove singularity is sensitive to lattice distortions such as defects and strain. In comparison with Raman spectroscopy, the variations in exciton anisotropy in Ψ are more sensitive for detecting slight changes in the quality and strain of monolayer MDC films. Moreover, the optical power requirement for TMDC characterization through exciton anisotropy in Ψ is ~10-5 mW·cm-2, which is significantly less than that of Raman spectroscopy (~106 mW·cm-2). The standard deviation of the signals varies with strain (defects) in Raman spectra and exciton anisotropies in Ψ are 0.700 (0.795) and 0.033 (0.073), indicating that exciton anisotropy is more sensitive to slight changes in the quality of monolayer TMDC films.

Foaming plastic carriers creates uneven surfaces, more area for necessary microorganisms

Researchers from Osaka University, The University of Adelaide, and the Osaka Research Institute of Industrial Science and Technology have invented a compact, ultra-broadband (de)multiplexer that efficiently separates and combines terahertz waves around 300 GHz with orthogonal polarizations, similar to polarized sunglasses. This breakthrough can double the data transmission rate, advancing 6G communications toward 1 Terabit/s.

TechInnovation 2024, IPI Singapore’s flagship event, is set to return this year from 28 - 30 October at Marina Bay Sands, Level 4, Roselle-Simpor Ballroom, as a premier event dedicated to exploring Sustainable Urban Living.

A machine learning algorithm can use X-ray diffraction data from polymers to predict the behaviour of new materials.

SUTD researchers have developed an exceptionally versatile soft gripper that can easily adapt to various food manipulation scenarios. This innovative design earned them the grand prize at the IEEE RoboSoft Manipulation Competition for two consecutive years (2022 and 2023), and more recently, the Best Innovation Award at the Shape Morphing Workshop during the 2024 IEEE RoboSoft conference.

Affordable polyethylene rafts found 5 times more durable than usual bamboo ones

- Professor Kyung-in Jang at DGIST has been selected to lead a research project under the “STEAM Research Program (Global Convergence Research Support).” - The project is expected to advance early diagnosis and effective treatment by developing brain engineering technology for “brain diseases.”

Researchers from Osaka University developed molecular wires with periodic twists. By controlling the lengths of regions between twists, the electrical conductivity of individual polymer chains can be enhanced. This work may lead to novel organic electronics or single-molecule wires.

Clean energy products could be made from metal-organic frameworks

Lightweight, untethered soft robots capable of crawling, climbing, perching, and flying developed by researchers from the Singapore University of Technology and Design, National University of Singapore and Queensland University of Technology.

SUTD researchers developed a new method of producing metallic structures at room temperature and pressure using the same process that insects and lobsters use to create their shells, unlocking a new type of energy-efficient metalworking.

Lithium-ion batteries are widely used daily in electronic appliances, and with the growing popularity of electric vehicles globally, battery safety has become a mounting concern. The development of battery monitoring and fault diagnosis technologies is therefore crucial. Prof Tang Xiaopeng, Assistant Professor of the Science Unit at Lingnan University, in collaboration with researchers from the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai University of Engineering Science, and Tongji University, has proposed a small-sample-learning-based, deep learning model to accurately predict the battery electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), making it a low-cost, very efficient and highly accurate battery assessment method. The co-authored paper "Online multi-scenario impedance spectra generation for batteries based on small-sample learning" was recently published in the prestigious international academic journal "Cell Reports Physical Science".

Hidden hand that carves life, Plant-inspired water purification, 3D-printed meals, Fast-glowing molecule, See less to move better. Read all in the latest Editor's Choice.

We are constantly surrounded by electromagnetic waves such as Wi-Fi. Researchers at Tohoku University tested a device to convert this ambient energy into energy for electronic devices.

In a multi-institutional collaboration, one SUTD researcher finds a way to optimise the design of perovskite tandem solar cells using machine learning.

Researchers from Osaka University found that how well light-converting molecules stack together in a solid is important for how well they convert light into electric current. A rigid molecule that stacked well showed excellent electricity generation in an organic solar cell and photocatalyst, easily outperforming a similar flexible molecule that did not stack well. This new way of improving the design of molecules could be used to pioneer the next generation of light-converting devices.

A new treatment combining tiny iron particles and nitric oxide gas shows promise in targeting oral cancer cells for destruction.

A research group led by Associate Professor Katsuya Sakai, Researcher Nichole Marcela Rojas-Chaverra, and Professor Kunio Matsumoto of the Cancer Research Institute and Nano-Life Science (WPI-NanoLSI) at Kanazawa University has developed a long-acting, subcutaneously injectable artificial hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) mimetic molecule using a fusion technology of cyclic peptides and protein engineering. They demonstrated in a mouse model that it improves liver fibrosis, lipid accumulation, and inflammation caused by non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). This research result provides an option for the development of NASH therapeutics as well as a technology for creating growth factor and cytokine mimetic molecules with improved pharmacokinetics.

Sometimes less is more. Researchers at Tohoku University accurately modeled dynamic fish schooling by incorporating the tendency of fish to focus on a single visual target instead of the whole school.

Using optical vortex enhances printing technology, shows promise in creating well-formed single ferrite crystals

Researchers from the HeKKSaGOn Alliance – involved were scientists from Kyoto University, Osaka University and Heidelberg University (Germany) – synthesized a bio-inspired polymer for water purification. The polymer was designed to mimic phytochelatin, a plant protein that selectively captures and neutralizes harmful heavy metal ions. The hyperconfinement of the polymer enabled a flow-through system and effectively removed cadmium ions from contaminated water, making it safe to drink. The system was selective for heavy metals and provides a new way to remove specific contaminants from water.

This study presents a method to record the temperature of materials with exceptional temporal resolution, using a Doppler broadening effect in neutron resonance absorption. Using a high-powered laser to generate pulses of neutrons 100 nanoseconds long, a test on samples of silver and tantalum successfully returned characteristic information for both materials and their temperatures.

Decoding dead stars’ “heartbeats”, Why do females live longer? DNA controller for molecular robots, Earliest twin quasars found. Read all in the latest Editor's Choice. Plus July's SciCom Coffee with A*STAR's Lisa Chong and get the early bird price to be in Asia Research News 2025.