Tin monosulfide (SnS) is a promising, earth-abundant material for thin-film solar cells, but device performance has long been limited by defects and unwanted reactions at the rear contact interface. Now, researchers from Korea demonstrate that inserting an ultra-thin germanium oxide layer between the molybdenum back contact and SnS region mitigates these issues. Their findings highlight how interface engineering can greatly boost power conversion efficiency, paving the way for improving performance in many such electronics and energy technologies.

Aviation’s climate impact extends beyond carbon dioxide emissions. A new study from Chalmers University of Technology and the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, and Imperial College, UK, reveals that contrails can represent a significant portion of aviation’s overall climate cost. The study also shows that climate impact can be reduced by optimising flight routes.

In a new article in Nature Communications, The social costs of aviation CO₂ and contrail cirrus, the researchers demonstrate that both CO₂ emissions and contrail formation contribute materially to aviation’s climate impact – and that the associated societal costs differ substantially depending on weather patterns and routing decisions. They find that, at the global level, contrails account for about 15 percent of aviation’s climate impact when measured in economic terms.

Researchers in China developed a 'one-pot' Cas12i3/Cas13d-based assay, designated OBServe.v2, to discriminate between ASFV genotype I and II. This method demonstrates complete concordance with the PCR-sequencing method within 45 min.