EPFL researchers have used a neural network to create all-atom models of proteins, as well as the dynamic movements that govern their function. Their comprehensive yet simplified approach resolves a major bottleneck in biology.

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have developed ApexGO, an AI-powered method for improving promising but imperfect antibiotic candidates. Unlike many AI approaches that screen databases for molecules that might work, ApexGO starts with a small number of starter molecules and makes step-by-step edits, using a predictive algorithm to guide the search toward stronger versions. In tests against disease-causing bacteria, 85% of the AI-generated molecules halted bacterial growth, while 72% outperformed the peptides from which they were derived. The work points toward a more systematic approach to antibiotic discovery, using AI to guide researchers toward molecules most worth testing.

POSTECH and CNU demonstrate spintronic non-volatile switching with up to 66× lower energy consumption.

A technology that surpasses the limitations of existing sensors, which failed to distinguish between water and asphalt on dark roads, has emerged to enhance the accuracy of autonomous driving and medical diagnostics. Our university's research team has developed a next-generation polarization sensor that can read the "direction" of light and change its own response. KAIST announced on May 12th that a research team led by Professor Joonki Suh from the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering has developed a "self-reconfigurable" polarization sensor array technology that regulates its operation by finding the optimal state using "polarization" information—the property of light vibrating in a specific direction. With the recent explosive increase in data and the rapid development of artificial intelligence technology, the need for next-generation vision systems that can efficiently process vast amounts of information with low energy is growing. However, existing image sensors only detect the intensity (brightness) of light, limiting their ability to precisely grasp the orientation or surface structure of objects. To overcome these limitations, the research team developed a polarization-based sensor technology capable of recognizing the vibration direction of light. In particular, by utilizing a "heterostructure" that combines two different materials—tellurium (Te) and rhenium disulfide (ReS₂)—they effectively implemented characteristics where the response to light varies depending on the crystal orientation.

The Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) has opened applications for the 2027–2028 cohort of its flagship Innovation Accelerator. The 10-month program supports entrepreneurial researchers developing deep technologies with strong potential for commercialization in the Japanese market.

Our personal identity is composed of many dimensions, such as age, gender, ethnic background, or socioeconomic status. A research team led by Fariba Karimi from the Institute of Human-Centred Computing at Graz University of Technology (TU Graz) and Samuel Martin-Gutierrez from the Complexity Science Hub developed the statistical computational model “MAPS” to calculate the influence of these factors on our social relationships. The researchers have recently published a MAPS-based analysis of high school friendships and marriages in the US in the journal Communications Physics. The study shows that humans are extremely selective.

Aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) have emerged as promising candidates for large-scale energy storage systems in the post-lithium era, owing to their inherent safety and cost-effectiveness. However, their practical implementation faces significant challenges, including chemical corrosion, uncontrolled dendrite formation, and hydrogen evolution reactions (HER). To address these limitations, an innovative “hydrophobic-zincophilic” Pd/g-C₃N₄ composite coating was developed for Zn anodes by atomic-layer-deposition (ALD). The g-C₃N₄ matrix serves as an ion flux regulator, while uniformly dispersed Pd nanoparticles function as zincophilic nucleation sites, enabling homogeneous Zn deposition. In situ optical characterization demonstrates the coating’s dual functionality: the hydrophobic component effectively minimizes water contact, while the zincophilic phase guides ordered Zn plating, jointly suppressing parasitic reactions. The modified Pd/g-C₃N₄@Zn anode achieves exceptional cycling stability (> 2500 h) and maintains a remarkable Coulombic efficiency of 99.56% over 5000 cycles at 2 A/g, representing a significant advancement in AZIB anode engineering. This work provides a generalizable interfacial design strategy for developing high-performance AZIB systems.

Efficient overall water splitting (OWS) technology has been highly demanded across the world, of which the key is the development of active and stable electrocatalysts for both hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions (HER/OER). Herein, novel crystalline Ni₃S₂ nanorods tuned by low-crystalline NiCoS_x (NiCoS_x@Ni₃S₂) are synthesized via an ion-exchange strategy. The built-in electric field at the heterogeneous interface driven by work function difference, facilitates rapid electron transfer from Ni₃S₂ to NiCoS_x via a robust Ni–S–Co bond bridge. This synergistic combination of the conductive crystalline core and low-crystalline shell optimizes the d-band center, balancing intermediate adsorption/desorption, speeding up water dissociation, enhancing hydrogen adsorption/desorption for HER, and lowering the energy barrier for OER, ultimately boosting OWS efficiency. The defect-rich, low-crystalline NiCoSx shell, bonded to the crystalline core via Ni–S–Co bonds, serves as a protective armor, enabling dynamic reconstruction into NiCoOOH and suppresses sulfide leaching, ensuring catalytic stability. The optimized NiCoS_x@Ni₃S₂ achieves low HER/OER overpotentials of 346/520 mV@1000 mA cm⁻², evidenced by an ultralow cell voltage of 2.10 V@1000 mA cm⁻² for OWS and long-term durability up to 400 h. The work paves a novel way to fabricate sulfur-based electrocatalysts with high yet balanced activity and stability for OWS via an interface engineering strategy.