Every time an autonomous drone dives to explore the ocean floor, the very armor designed to protect it simultaneously blinds its sonar. In International Journal of Extreme Manufacturing, Chinese researchers have solved this long-standing engineering paradox by inventing a soft, custom-molded acoustic "contact lens" that actively corrects outgoing sound waves before they pass through the drone's protective shell.

Perovskite single-crystal heterojunction arrays exhibit significant application potential in advanced optoelectronics, however, achieving comprehensive control over crystallographic and spatial properties of the array remains challenging. Here, we report a selective epitaxial growth strategy for fabricating single-crystal MAPbCl₃/MAPbBr₃ and MAPbBr₃/MAPbI₃ heterojunction arrays. This method employs patterned polymer templates to define the pixel dimension and arrangement, while the underlying single-crystal substrate guides the crystal orientation of the heterojunction array, enabling precise control over the pixel size, pixel arrangement angle and crystal plane. The self-powered photodetector arrays were fabricated based on these heterojunctions, showing a specific detectivity of 6.0 × 10¹¹ Jones, a weak-light detection limit of 9 nW cm⁻² and long-term operation stability under zero bias. Furthermore, the light pattern with different illumination intensities could be clearly imaged by the device array in the self-powered mode. This work establishes a robust method of fabricating the single-crystal heterojunction arrays for advanced optoelectronic applications.

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis remains a hard-to-treat lung disease with limited effective drugs. A recent study in Engineering used machine learning to screen natural compounds and found dihydromyricetin, a flavonoid from herbs, can block the TGF-β/ALK5 signaling pathway. It alleviates fibrosis and inflammation in cell and mouse models, shows good safety, and offers a new natural-product-based direction for pulmonary fibrosis treatment.

Cardiac hypertrophy often progresses to heart failure, but the underlying link between lysosomes and mitochondria remains unclear. A new study in Engineering finds that the lysosomal protein TRPML1 is significantly reduced in hypertrophic hearts. It directly binds VDAC1 to maintain mitochondrial calcium balance and energy production, providing a potential target for treating pathological cardiac remodeling.

China’s power grid is set to undergo major transformation by 2030 as wind and solar energy expand rapidly. A new article in Engineering identifies five typical grid development scenarios and key technical challenges in power supply, grid stability, and equipment performance. It also proposes targeted research directions to support secure, low-carbon operation of the future power system, offering clear guidance for technology innovation and grid upgrading.

Hydraulic fracturing is moving from experience-based operations to intelligent control. A new study in Engineering introduces an AI-driven framework for subsurface hydraulic fracturing, featuring data-driven analysis, dynamic optimization, and autonomous decision-making. It uses dedicated deep learning models to predict fractures, warn of risks, and forecast production, forming a closed-loop intelligent system. The work also points out current challenges and future directions, supporting the digital shift in unconventional oil and gas development.

Wind turbine blades are hard to recycle, but a new study in Engineering offers a green solution. Researchers have developed a mild catalytic oxidation method to break down epoxy resin from waste blades at 100 °C with a small amount of catalyst. The degraded products directly become high-strength adhesives, while catalysts and fibers can be fully recovered. This eco-friendly approach turns hard-to-dispose waste into valuable materials, supporting the low-carbon and circular development of the wind power industry.