Engineering & Technology Materials Science and Engineering

The largest ever reported database of dielectric material properties could speed up development of electronics like smartphones and energy storage systems.

A glowing test strip offers real-time protection against formaldehyde exposure in homes, workplaces, and labs.

Understanding the interaction between hydrogen, metal, and the environment can help avoid metal fatigue cracks.

Researchers have developed a machine learning approach to predict the mechanical behaviour of new alloys, offering potential savings in both costs and experiment time.

Understanding how tree-like structures that form in thin films could be the key to next-generation materials for beyond-5G communications technologies.

Scientists from City University of Hong Kong and collaborators from more than 20 countries are taking FIRST steps towards safeguarding communities most affected by climate change.

Scientists from CityUHK have recently achieved a major breakthrough in the field of photovoltaic technology, successfully developing highly efficient and durable perovskite solar cells (PSCs) suitable for outdoor environments. It is expected to contribute to the wider adoption of solar power and advance global carbon neutrality goals.

By identifying the ideal manufacturing conditions, machine learning reduces the need for expensive and time-consuming experimentation.

A fast and efficient tool could change the way researchers collect tiny therapeutic packages from cell cultures, offering a low-cost approach that avoids lengthy processing and complex procedures.

Researchers use high-brilliance synchrotron radiation to identify the most optimum composition with the highest half-metallic nature.

Mixing two or three liquids can achieve the right combination of functions for soft electronics.

A new material provides high-performance conversion of heat into electricity, offering a way to make electronic devices more efficient.

CO2 reduction to storable fuels or valuable chemical products provides a carbon-neutral cycle that can mitigate the rapid consumption of fossil fuels and increasing CO2 emissions. Although solar-driven CO2 reduction holds great promise for sustainable energy, the role and control of atomic-level active sites in governing intermediate formation and conversion pathways remains poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate a capped VLS growth method employed to grow continuous ultrathin alloy films of molybdenum vanadium sulfide with sulfur vacancies, i.e., Svac-Mo1-xVxS2. The findings indicate a correlation between the density of Svac and the vanadium concentration, leading to the formation of V–Svac pairs, which serve as the active sites for CO2 reduction under solar light with water.

Researchers at NIMS have created Research Data Express (RDE) to automate data processing and create AI-ready datasets for materials research.

Japanese researchers have developed a living sensor display that turns engineered skin into a biological monitor, visually indicating internal inflammation without requiring blood sampling.

Large language models accelerate construction of materials property databases.

Brain atlas, From perfume to plastic, Stable solar power, Plant aging switch, Anti-cancer droplets, Greener gold, Extreme star factory and How research shapes sustainability policy. Read all in the latest Editor's Choice.

Sonochemical degradation of carbon tetrachloride was found to increase in the presence of alcohols

Surface-bound gels may have provided the structure and chemistry for life to take root on Earth, and perhaps beyond

Researchers from The University of Osaka developed mirror-image semiconductor polymer molecules for organic solar cells. The new acceptor molecules prevent recombination of electrons and holes by generating currents with spin-polarization of about 70% in which one electron spin dominates. Solar cells containing the new acceptors showed three times higher efficiency than the non-mirror-image version. Using mirror-image acceptor molecules provides a new way of increasing efficiency in clean energy technology.

Researchers from The University of Osaka fabricated a nanopore surrounded by a gate as a cooling system with enhanced efficiency for semiconductor chips. Applying a voltage to the gate induces the flow of ions through the nanopore. Creating a salt gradient makes the ion flow unidirectional. Heat is dragged along with the ions, resulting in heat transfer. Changing the applied voltage from negative to positive switches the system from cooling to heating.

Researchers from the Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo detect the motion of hydrogen atoms in palladium at low temperatures using channeling nuclear reaction analysis

Researchers have developed an eco-friendly method to create gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) using microalgae. This "green synthesis" avoids harsh chemicals, resulting in nanoparticles that are more stable than conventional ones. When activated by a laser, these AuNPs effectively destroy cancer cells while showing lower toxicity to healthy cells. This breakthrough promises a more sustainable and safer approach to photothermal cancer therapy and other applications in nanomedicine.

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.

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 from The University of Osaka have developed a polymeric adhesion system by introducing reversible bonds at the adhesion interface based on the formation and dissociation of host–guest complexes. The adhesive can be decomposed on demand using temperature or chemicals and reused multiple times. Visualization of the interface using neutrons revealed the mechanism underlying repeatable sticking and peeling. This technology can be used for sustainable material applications.

Self-healing hydrogel, Cool crawler, AI and world's longest crop experiment & Freeze-framing cells. Plus how media interest helps engineers and society. Read all in the latest Editor's Choice

Whispers in the gut, "Memory foam" for space 🚀, Potassium power 🔋& Intelligent multitasking. Read all in the latest Editor's Choice

Researchers from South Korea engineered a robotic folding sheet that can crawl across a surface as well as grasp and lift various objects.