The heart of the opioid epidemic that killed 665,341 people in the United States between 2005 and 2020 shifted geographically from the Northwest to the East, according to a new geographical analysis.

Scientists from Sichuan University have developed a new platform that combines large language models and quantum computing to predict Salmonella antimicrobial resistance. Their research, published in Engineering, aims to address the inefficiencies of traditional prediction methods and the challenges posed by high-dimensional data and sample imbalance.

As the world transitions from fossil fuels to clean energy storage systems, lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) have become increasingly vital across multiple industries. While larger battery structures offer promising solutions for enhanced energy density, they present significant challenges in electrolyte filling and wetting processes. Researchers from the Tsinghua University have now conducted groundbreaking research to understand the complex relationship between electrode microstructure and electrolyte wetting, addressing a critical bottleneck in battery manufacturing.

On April 10, Tsinghua University Press (TUP), the leading university press in China, and ResearchGate, the professional network for researchers, has announced an expansion of its Journal Home partnership, which was the first of its kind with a Chinese publisher last year. This expansion more than doubles TUP’s coverage, now including 11 open access titles.

A new study in Engineering shows that a biomass-based carbon aerogel named BCA-600 can be used in solar-driven photothermal conversion technology. It can efficiently dehydrate oily sludge and purify oily water, while also having the potential to reduce carbon emissions in the petroleum industry.

With the swift progress in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), the hardware enabling these technologies must evolve to accommodate increasing workloads and energy requirements. A recent study introduced AI accelerators—customized hardware optimized for AI tasks—built on silicon photonic integrated circuits. Powered by III-V compound semiconductors, these silicon PICs consume less energy, presenting a promising direction for creating a more efficient and sustainable AI infrastructure to support future computing advancements.

When materials are created on a nanometer scale — just a handful of atoms thick — even the thermal energy present at room temperature can cause structural ripples. How these ripples affect the mechanical properties of these thin materials can limit their use in electronics and other key systems. New research from Binghamton University, State University of New York validates theoretical models about how elasticity is scale-dependent — in other words, the elastic properties of a material are not constant, but vary with the size of the piece of material.