Researchers Wooyoung Jin and Hyungyeon Cha from the Ulsan Advanced Energy Technology R&D Center at the Korea Institute of Energy Research (KIER, President Chang-Keun Yi) have resolved a long-standing challenge in high-Ni cathode materials, a key component of next-generation electric vehicle (EV) batteries.

In a paper published in Science China Earth Sciences, a team of scientists present a novel application of data-driven AI model to real-time predictions of the 2023–2024 climate conditions in the tropical Pacific. As configured, this AI-based model can adequately represent the coupled ocean-atmosphere interactions, with its prediction procedure being executed in a rolling manner, in which the related key fields during multi-month time intervals (TIs) are taken for input predictors serving as initial conditions. Sensitivity experiments are conducted to examine how prediction skills are affected by the input predictor specifications, including TIs. A comparison with other dynamic coupled models is also made to demonstrate the prediction performance for the 2023–2024 El Niño event.

How can we fabricate an artificial brain that mimics the natural brain, from structure to function?

In response to this question, researchers from Xi’an Jiaotong University published a review paper outlining the primary requirements and challenges in biomanufacturing brain-like tissue, summarizing the existing technologies, strategies, and characteristics, and reviewing the cutting-edge developments in biomanufacturing central neural repair prosthetics, brain development models, brain disease models, and brain-inspired biocomputing models.

This review helps readers systematically understand the challenges, current progress, and future directions of brain-like living tissue manufacturing.

Plasmonic nanoantennas provide unique opportunities for precise control of light-matter coupling in surface-enhanced infrared absorption (SEIRA) spectroscopy, but most of the resonant systems realized so far suffer from the obstacles of low sensitivity, narrow bandwidth, and asymmetric Fano resonance perturbations. Here, we demonstrated an overcoupled resonator with a high plasmon-molecule coupling coefficient (µ) (OC-Hµ resonator) by precisely controlling the radiation loss channel, the resonator-oscillator coupling channel, and the frequency detuning channel. We observed a strong dependence of the sensing performance on the coupling state, and demonstrated that OC-Hµ resonator has excellent sensing properties of ultra-sensitive (7.25% nm^-1), ultra-broadband (3-10 µm), and immune asymmetric Fano lineshapes. These characteristics represent a breakthrough in SEIRA technology and lay the foundation for specific recognition of biomolecules, trace detection, and protein secondary structure analysis using a single array (array size is 100 × 100 µm²). In addition, with the assistance of machine learning, mixture classification, concentration prediction and spectral reconstruction were achieved with the highest accuracy of 100%. Finally, we demonstrated the potential of OC-Hµ resonator for SARS-CoV-2 detection. These findings will promote the wider application of SEIRA technology, while providing new ideas for other enhanced spectroscopy technologies, quantum photonics and studying light-matter interactions.

Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) have dominated the portable electronic and electrochemical energy markets since their commercialisation, whose high cost and lithium scarcity have prompted the development of other alkali-ion batteries (AIBs) including sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) and potassium-ion batteries (PIBs). Owing to larger ion sizes of Na⁺ and K⁺ compared with Li⁺, nanocomposites with excellent crystallinity orientation and well-developed porosity show unprecedented potential for advanced lithium/sodium/potassium storage. With enticing open rigid framework structures, Prussian blue analogues (PBAs) remain promising self-sacrificial templates for the preparation of various nanocomposites, whose appeal originates from the well-retained porous structures and exceptional electrochemical activities after thermal decomposition. This review focuses on the recent progress of PBA-derived nanocomposites from their fabrication, lithium/sodium/potassium storage mechanism, and applications in AIBs (LIBs, SIBs, and PIBs). To distinguish various PBA derivatives, the working mechanism and applications of PBA-templated metal oxides, metal chalcogenides, metal phosphides, and other nanocomposites are systematically evaluated, facilitating the establishment of a structure–activity correlation for these materials. Based on the fruitful achievements of PBA-derived nanocomposites, perspectives for their future development are envisioned, aiming to narrow down the gap between laboratory study and industrial reality.