A comprehensive review published in Nano Research reveals how mechanical forces—such as fluid shear, matrix stiffness, and cyclic strain—are essential for building realistic organoids and organ-on-a-chip models. The work bridges mechanobiology and microengineering, offering a roadmap for designing next-generation in vitro systems that truly mimic human physiology. These advances could revolutionize drug screening, disease modeling, and personalized medicine.

Niobium/tantalum–tellurium (Nb/Ta–Te) charge density wave materials have been developed for infrared detection. Devices based on these materials enable efficient mid- and long-wave infrared sensing at room temperature under zero-bias conditions, eliminating the need for an external power supply, and achieve a detectivity of up to 10⁸ Jones. Furthermore, by integrating the detector with artificial intelligence (AI)–assisted image enhancement, the quality of single-pixel infrared imaging is significantly improved, offering a promising route toward next-generation low-power, intelligent infrared optoelectronic systems.

The stability of zinc metal anodes is a critical bottleneck hindering the practical application of aqueous zinc-ion batteries. The team of Zhaoling Ma and Hongqiang Wang from Guangxi Normal University has developed a ZnV₂O₄ ion-sieve interface layer featuring a three-dimensional tunnel structure. By leveraging the synergistic effect of moderate oxygen vacancies and tunnel geometry, the material achieves ultra-fast and selective Zn²⁺ transport. This design enables symmetric cells to deliver stable cycling for over 3,700 hours at 4 mA cm⁻², and full cells to maintain a capacity retention of 52.5% after 1,000 cycles, offering a promising strategy for long-life aqueous zinc-ion batteries.

Micro/nanomotors (MNMs) hold immense potential for advancing fundamental science and enabling a diverse range of applications, including targeted therapeutic interventions and environmental remediation. MOF-based motors have demonstrated excellent performance in wastewater treatment, leveraging the MOF tunable chemistry, high porosity, and large surface area for enhanced interactions with target species.

A multiscale-coupling triple confinement strategy was developed to construct high-performance room-temperature phosphorescent (RTP) carbon dots (CDs) that display significantly prolonged RTP lifetime and enhanced quantum yield, and show great potential in multifunctional applications including information encryption, fingerprint recognition, dynamic display, and warm white light-emitting.