High-temperature superconductivity has long been hailed as the “crown jewel” of condensed matter physics. In 2023, the nickel-based compound La₃Ni₂O₇ was found to exhibit superconductivity above 80 K under high pressure, setting a new record for nickelates and opening a fresh platform to explore high-Tc mechanisms. Professors Kun Jiang (Institute of Physics, CAS) and Fu-Chun Zhang (Kavli Institute for Theoretical Sciences, UCAS) and their team proposed that La₃Ni₂O₇ can be described as a “self-doped molecular Mott insulator,” where strong correlations and interlayer coupling drive superconductivity in a way reminiscent of cuprates. This work provides new insights into the origin of high-temperature superconductivity.

Lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries require efficient catalysts to accelerate polysulfide conversion and mitigate the shuttle effect. However, the rational design of catalysts remains challenging due to the lack of a systematic strategy that rationally optimizes electronic structures and mesoscale transport properties. In this work, we propose an autogenously transformed CoWO₄/WO₂ heterojunction catalyst, integrating a strong polysulfide-adsorbing intercalation catalyst with a metallic-phase promoter for enhanced activity. CoWO₄ effectively captures polysulfides, while the CoWO₄/WO₂ interface facilitates their S–S bond activation on heterogenous catalytic sites. Benefiting from its directional intercalation channels, CoWO₄ not only serves as a dynamic Li-ion reservoir but also provides continuous and direct pathways for rapid Li-ion transport. Such synergistic interactions across the heterojunction interfaces enhance the catalytic activity of the composite. As a result, the CoWO₄/WO₂ heterostructure demonstrates significantly enhanced catalytic performance, delivering a high capacity of 1262 mAh g⁻¹ at 0.1 C. Furthermore, its rate capability and high sulfur loading performance are markedly improved, surpassing the limitations of its single-component counterparts. This study provides new insights into the catalytic mechanisms governing Li–S chemistry and offers a promising strategy for the rational design of high-performance Li–S battery catalysts.

The research team found that the supplementation of n-3 fatty acids significantly enhances lactation performance even in non-inflammatory states, suggesting the existence of an unexplored direct regulatory mechanism.

Aqueous Zn-iodine batteries (ZIBs) face the formidable challenges towards practical implementation, including metal corrosion and rampant dendrite growth on the Zn anode side, and shuttle effect of polyiodide species from the cathode side. These challenges lead to poor cycle stability and severe self-discharge. From the fabrication and cost point of view, it is technologically more viable to deploy electrolyte engineering than electrode protection strategies. More importantly, a synchronous method for modulation of both cathode and anode is pivotal, which has been often neglected in prior studies. In this work, cationic poly(allylamine hydrochloride) (Pah⁺) is adopted as a low-cost dual-function electrolyte additive for ZIBs. We elaborate the synchronous effect by Pah⁺ in stabilizing Zn anode and immobilizing polyiodide anions. The fabricated Zn-iodine coin cell with Pah⁺ (ZnI₂ loading: 25 mg cm⁻²) stably cycles 1000 times at 1 C, and a single-layered 3 × 4 cm² pouch cell (N/P ratio ~ 1.5) with the same mass loading cycles over 300 times with insignificant capacity decay.

Researchers from the Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo have applied stochastic optimal control theory to biological systems, studying how these systems behave. By using concepts and tools from information theory, they successfully converted the nonlinear optimization problem into a reasonably solvable form. The optimal control strategies for problems such as biodiversity and epidemics are found to exhibit “mode-switching” phenomena, where sharply transitioning from weak to strong control provides the most effective solution.

Rice paddies feed billions of people worldwide but face two major challenges: heavy metal contamination and greenhouse gas emissions. Now, researchers have developed a new type of biochar that can address both problems at once—immobilizing toxic cadmium in soil while helping trap carbon, a critical step in slowing climate change.