Researchers from Zhejiang University and Northeast Forestry University have developed an exhalation-responsive optoelectronic clip that turns human breath into a clear optical ON/OFF signal. The wearable device combines optical microfibers with nanocellulose films and can be used for touch-free alerts, coded communication, and respiratory monitoring.

Researchers have developed a greener plasma-based method to create multifunctional nanocomposite films with smart optical and antibacterial properties. The approach enables simultaneous control of vanadium oxide structures and in situ formation of gold nanoparticles, producing materials with temperature-responsive infrared modulation and efficient photothermal antibacterial activity. This work provides a sustainable route toward advanced smart coatings and functional materials.

Researchers have developed a polymer-based thermal interface material (TIM) using vertically aligned carbon fibers bridged by graphene oxide. The composite achieves a through-plane thermal conductivity of 7.61 W/m·K at 25.2 wt% filler loading, with an exceptional enhancement efficiency of 162.9%. It also maintains a low compressive modulus of 6.91 MPa, ensuring excellent compressibility for practical electronic cooling applications.

Topological corner states are protected against defects and structural imperfections that is beneficial for robust information or power transmission. In turn, vortex beams carrying orbital angular momentum can act as key carriers for information encoding. The integration of such states may enable robust topological photonic devices with large transmission capacity, yet fundamental barriers exist: zero-dimensional corner states reported so far in higher-order topological insulators with single-mode waveguides cannot readily accommodate vortices. In their article in Science Bulletin, a joint team of researchers from China and Russia has integrated them successfully and has shown that such states can exist in both linear and nonlinear regimes. According to the study, these corner vortex states exhibit outstanding robustness over a wide power range. Unlike vortex solitons in trivial lattices, they form without any power threshold, breaking the limitations of conventional vortex soliton generation. This work opens new avenues for topologically protected information transfer and wavefront control in topological photonics.

Researchers at Zhengzhou University have developed a Janus bioelectrode that protects weak body signals from electromagnetic interference. By combining a magnetic-dielectric aerogel with a liquid-metal conductive textile, the electrode records high-quality muscle and heart signals even in noisy electronic environments. When paired with machine learning, it enabled accurate recognition of human motions using fused EMG and ECG signals.