Science

Carbon-based π-electron compounds are usually a first pick for their catalyst potential, but researchers have developed a stable silicon version – a feat that has been a major challenge until now.

A research team from City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK) recently collaborated with an international research team to publish a study revealing a correlation between global contamination of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in globally consumed edible marine fish and associated human health risks. The study found that consumers may be exposed to elevated levels of PFAS by consuming imported fish such as salmon, tuna, swordfish and cod — even in regions with low environmental pollution — thereby increasing food‑safety risks.

Researchers at the RIKEN Pioneering Research Institute (PRI) / RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science (CSRS) have successfully used insects as mini molecule-making factories.

Scientists have found a way to control electrons in molecules using tailor-made terahertz light pulses, offering new possibilities for advanced technologies.

An organic catalyst offers chemists precise control over a vital step in activating hydrocarbons.

Osaka Metropolitan University researchers and their colleagues have successfully detected an ultra-high-energy cosmic ray with an energy level comparable to the most energetic cosmic ray ever observed. The cosmic ray is set to be named after the Japanese sun goddess, Amaterasu. No promising astronomical object has been identified in the direction from which this cosmic ray originated, implying the potential existence of unknown astronomical phenomena and novel physical origins beyond the Standard Model.

A significant breakthrough in developing a passive radiative cooling (PRC) material has been announced by researchers at City University of Hong Kong (CityU). The findings have just been published in the prestigious scientific journal Science titled “Hierarchically structured passive radiative cooling ceramic with high solar reflectivity.”

A huge step forward in the evolution of perovskite solar cells recorded by researchers at City University of Hong Kong (CityU) will have significant implications for renewable energy development. The CityU innovation paves the way for commercialising perovskite solar cells, bringing us closer to an energy-efficient future powered by sustainable sources.

Researchers from Osaka University have used single carbon atom doping to form four chemical bonds in one step. Gamma-lactams (cyclic molecules that are common in antibiotics) were easily synthetically accessible from alpha, beta-unsaturated amides (an important molecule in cancer progression). The team chemically modified an anti-seizure medication in 96% yield, highlighting the work's utility to otherwise synthetically complex aspects of pharmaceutical development. The results of this work could become foundational to drug discovery and development.

Muon non-destructive analysis of Asteroid Ryugu revealed the raw materials of solid matter at the outer regions of the early solar system. The samples contain less oxygen relative to silicon than typical CI chondrites, indicating that previous CI chondrite samples may have been contaminated by terrestrial materials, thus redefining the standard elemental composition of solid materials in the solar system.

A team of researchers have analyzed the elemental composition of asteroid Ryugu using an artificially generated muon beam from a particle accelerator.

A research team co-led by chemists from City University of Hong Kong (CityU) and Imperial College London (Imperial College) has developed new, highly efficient and stable perovskite solar cells. The breakthrough invention is expected to greatly accelerate the commercialisation of perovskite photovoltaic technology, providing a promising alternative to silicon solar cells.

A research group led by Dr. Soichi Sano, a specially appointed lecturer in the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka Metropolitan University, revealed that men with hematopoietic mosaic loss of Y chromosome (mLOY) — meaning men with an increase, in the blood, of cells that have lost the male sex chromosome — have a worse prognosis for heart failure due to fibrosis progression in the heart. Furthermore, in experiments using mice, which, like humans, have an increased mortality rate with age, they found that the presence of mLOY causes overproduction of fibrosis-promoting substances, which leads to the progression of cardiac fibrosis, a mechanism directly related to a worse prognosis for heart failure.

A surprising tree-inspired discovery is helping scientists design surfaces that encourage different liquids to move in varying directions.

A research led by scientists from City University of Hong Kong (CityU) has successfully developed a super-strong, highly ductile and super-light titanium-based alloy using additive manufacturing, commonly known as 3D printing. Their findings open up a new pathway to design alloys with unprecedented structures and properties for various structural applications.

Inspired by a kind of tree leaf, scientists at City University of Hong Kong (CityU) discovered that the spreading direction of different liquids deposited on the same surface can be steered, solving a challenge that has remained for over two centuries. This breakthrough could ignite a new wave of using 3D surface structures for intelligent liquid manipulation with profound implications for various scientific and industrial applications, such as fluidics design and heat transfer enhancement.

Images from the Akatsuki spacecraft unveil why Venus’s atmosphere rotates much faster than its surface.

Diamond is the hardest material in nature. But out of many expectations, it also has great potential as an excellent electronic material. A joint research team led by City University of Hong Kong (CityU) has demonstrated for the first time the large, uniform tensile elastic straining of microfabricated diamond arrays through the nanomechanical approach. Their findings have shown the potential of strained diamonds as prime candidates for advanced functional devices in microelectronics, photonics, and quantum information technologies.

A research team, affiliated with South Korea's Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) has proposed a new physical phenomenon that promises enhanced storage capacity of a fingernail-sized memory chip by 1,000 times.

Maternal antibodies primed to react to specific allergens can cross the placenta, passing on transiently allergic reactions to offspring, according to new preclinical research from a collaborative study by the Agency for Science, Technology and Research, KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, and Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore. The finding hints at why infants exhibit allergies so early in life and suggests possible targets for intervention.

Researchers at Kanazawa University and University of California, San Francisco report in Science that arbitrary proteins, when combined with anchoring and receptor proteins, can work as a signaling protein “morphogen” capable of engineered spatial patterning.

A new catalyst design enables unprecedented control over the modification of fatty acid derivatives that opens the door to creating useful substances in a green and efficient manner.

Researchers from Tohoku University’s Graduate School of Engineering have discovered a novel iron-based superelastic alloy capable of withstanding extreme temperatures—both high and low.

When the master regulator of protein production malfunctions, it may contribute to the development of neuronal diseases such as Alzheimer's and Huntington's.

An international research team has revealed that this ‘super-rotation’ is maintained near the equator by atmospheric tidal waves formed from solar heating on the planet’s dayside and cooling on its nightside.

A recent study, affiliated with South Korea's Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) has engineered the light-absorbing layer material with the new composition of perovskite material and applied it to the solar cell.

First-of-its-kind study led by Duke-NUS Medical School and National Neuroscience Institute (NNI) applies experimental methodology using human neural cells and brain organoids to investigate mechanism underlying epileptic seizures in Angelman syndrome, an autism spectrum disorder.

Ultraprecise 3D printing technology is a key enabler for manufacturing precision biomedical and photonic devices. However, the existing printing technology is limited by its low efficiency and high cost. Professor Shih-Chi Chen and his team from the Department of Mechanical and Automation Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), collaborated with the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory to develop the “Femtosecond Projection Two-photon Lithography (FP-TPL)” printing technology.

Research groups led by Professor Swee Kuan Goh, Associate Professor and Professor Sen Yang, Assistant Professor, both from the Department of Physics at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) have joined forces in developing and applying colour centres in nano-diamonds as a tool for studying the characteristics of quantum materials under extreme conditions.

Researchers have shown mechanical force can start chemical reactions, making them cheaper, more broadly applicable, and more environmentally friendly than conventional methods.