Engineering & Technology

Researchers at the Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI), Kanazawa University, report in the Journal of the American Chemical Society the use of three-dimensional atomic force microscopy (AFM) and molecular dynamics simulations to determine the structure of water in the hydration of different types of chitin nanocrystals, and how this affects their mechanical properties, reactivities, and interactions with enzymes and reactants.

Researchers at the Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI), Kanazawa University, report in ACS Applied Nano Materials a new method to precisely measure nuclear elasticity—the stiffness or softness of the cell nucleus—in living cells. By employing a technique called Nanoendoscopy-AFM (NE-AFM), which inserts a nanoneedle probe directly into cells, the team revealed how cancer cell nuclei stiffen or soften depending on chromatin structure and environmental conditions. The findings provide fundamental insights into how the physical properties of cancer cell nuclei change during disease progression, highlighting their potential as biomarkers for diagnosis and treatment evaluation.

More than 40% of existing and planned offshore wind farm sites in Europe and Asia are exposed to wind speeds above the maximum capacity of some turbines, highlighting the need for these energy infrastructures to adapt to extreme wind events associated with climate change.

Recent discoveries have shown that MFC systems can be combined with soil to form soil microbial fuel cells (SMFCs), or further combined with plants to form plant microbial fuel cells (PMFCs). Researchers at National Taiwan University investigated the effects of SMFCs and PMFCs on reducing greenhouse gas emissions from soil.

SINGAPORE, 29 October 2025 – TechInnovation 2025, organised by IPI Singapore, returns from 29–31 October at Sands Expo & Convention Centre and is expected to bring together over 4,000 attendees from more than 40 countries. The event features 100 emerging “Tech Offers” spanning artificial intelligence, HealthTech, sustainability, circular food innovation, and advanced manufacturing.

Kuala Lumpur, 28 October 2025 - Day 1 of the World AI Show – Malaysia, by Trescon, concluded with resounding success, drawing over 1500+ business leaders, policymakers, investors, and innovators to DoubleTree by Hilton Kuala Lumpur. The summit opened as Malaysia’s definitive platform for AI collaboration - uniting public and private stakeholders committed to advancing the nation’s digital economy.

Researchers led by Prof. Kevin C.-W. Wu at National Taiwan University and Prof. Yusuke Yamauchi at Nagoya University have successfully developed a rapid and scalable evaporation-induced method to create continuous, uniform thin films of mesoporous amorphous metal-organic frameworks (aMOFs).

Almost every big life change, from starting a new school to changing jobs or moving towns, elicits the same advice: get involved and make friends. While there’s some truth to that guidance, it takes more than simply participating in activities to grow a social network, according to research by an international team.

- Proposed the world’s first strategy to precisely control triboelectric polarity through polymer structure design, drawing attention to it as a next-generation energy-harvesting material. - Developed an ion-anchored polymer electrolyte that overcomes the limitations of conventional ionic liquids, achieving both output stability and controlled polarity. - Research findings published in Advanced Materials, a world-renowned journal in the field of material science.

- Research team led by DGIST Professor Hyukjun Kwon successfully covert the n-type of titanium oxide into the p-type with a laser-based integrated oxidation-doping process - This highly reliable, high-speed process is expected to be applicable to next-gen electronic devices

- Successful control of crystal structure and defects achieved by adjusting only the heating rate during the annealing process - Development of high-efficiency, eco-friendly devices without complex equipment that demonstrates commercialization potential

- Paper and custom LiDAR dataset to be revealed at ICCV 2025, one of the leading global conferences in CS

The 46th global edition of Trescon’s flagship AI series begins tomorrow at DoubleTree by Hilton, Kuala Lumpur, bringing together 1000+ business leaders, policymakers, investors, and innovators from around the world.

Research led by the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) has revealed how pressure can transform atomically thin bismuth from a semiconductor into a metal, opening a pathway to reconfigurable, ultra-thin electronics.

Researchers at Tohoku University synthesized a graphene mesosponge to pinpoint the cause of battery failure, so that we can fix the root cause of their instability.

- New approach that overcomes the limitations of existing processes, improving both diffusion efficiency and magnetic performance - Combines spark plasma sintering with diffusion technology to achieve enhanced performance, with potential applications in electric vehicles, wind power generation, etc. - Published in Journal of Alloys and Compounds, a prestigious international journal in the field of materials science

- Development of an AI method that enables efficient large-scale model training while protecting personal information with only a single model transmission - Overcomes previous limitations of computational cost and overfitting… expected to be applied in medical image analysis - Research results published in Medical Image Analysis, October 2025, a top-tier journal in the field of medical image analysis

- The coil interface, designed as an inductive electric field gradient-enhanced coil for peripheral nerve stimulation, was 3D-printed and successfully verified - Expected to contribute to the treatment of chronic pain and nerve disorders, with improved stimulation efficiency achieved by reducing heat generation and energy consumption - Research findings published in the esteemed journal, ‘IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering’

DeePFAS, a novel deep-learning model, streamlines large-scale non-targeted screening of "forever chemicals" (PFAS) by projecting raw MS2 spectra into a latent space of chemical features, offering a rapid, AI-driven solution to replace complex traditional analysis.

A research team led by Associate Professor Tomoya Kataoka at Ehime University, in collaboration with Yachiyo Engineering Co., Ltd., Nippon Koei Co., Ltd., and Wageningen University’s Associate Professor Tim van Emmerik, has developed AI software using deep learning to detect, classify, and track plastics flowing in rivers. The system automatically estimates transport volumes from video data, supporting continuous monitoring and advancing understanding of land-to-sea plastic transport. The findings appear in Water Research.

A common soil fungus (Purpureocillium lilacinum BA1S), when combined with calcium and mild alkalinity, speeds up the breakdown of biodegradable plastic (PBAT), offering a greener path for managing agricultural and packaging waste.

Researchers at Tohoku University have taken a major step forward in the global hunt for dark matter, an invisible substance that makes up about 27% of the universe, by designing a new type of quantum sensor network that could significantly improve our chances of detecting it.

Researchers from the Institute of Polymer Science and Engineering at National Taiwan University have developed a multifunctional hydrogel sensor for detecting formaldehyde.

Researchers from The University of Tokyo have found that single cells in collective chemotaxis act like agents in distributed reinforcement learning, utilizing the environment as an “external memory” and exhibiting highly intelligent behavior.

SUTD researchers test a privacy-preserving approach that blends federated learning with cloud coordination for smart grids in future 6G environments.

The precise placement of a single silver atom can be enough to make a huge difference. Researchers found that light-emitting properties were 77 times more efficient as a result – paving the way for better optoelectronics and sensing technologies such as OLED lights.

SUTD researchers have developed a streamlined life cycle assessment method that makes environmental evaluation faster, cheaper, and more accessible to product designers without compromising reliability.

Researchers at Tohoku University have made a magnesium battery prototype that represents the potential next stage in energy storage - a fast-charging battery made from sustainable materials.

By employing state-of-the-art flat histogram Monte Carlo techniques combined with thermodynamic and configurational analyses, this study reveals the complex and diverse behavior of water adsorption in metal–organic frameworks.

Ancient black holes, How good cholesterol is made, Self-healing plastic, Dengue’s genetic imprint, Korean mussel power & Space clean-up. Read all in the latest Editor's Choice.