During the preliminary design phase of flapping-wing micro air vehicles (FWMAVs), there currently exists a deficiency in rapid prediction method for the aerodynamic characteristics of flexible flapping wings. A novel aerodynamic prediction method for flexible flapping wings has recently achieved significant breakthroughs. This method innovatively employs conical surface to mimic wing deformation, combined with an unsteady panel method for aerodynamic force computation, enabling rapid and accurate prediction of both aerodynamic characteristics and control moments of flexible flapping wings.

An international research team has advanced an imaging method to capture nanoscale “spin maps” of chiral perovskites for the first time, revealing how these materials control electron spin at room temperature. The study also identifies a new type of spin-sensitive junction at the interface with metals. The findings, recently published in National Science Review, could guide the design of next-generation spintronic devices.

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.