Current dithioester synthesis methods are cumbersome, inefficient and often toxic. A research team recently developed a green synthesis technique for dithioester generation using sulfide powder, alkyl bromides and aromatic aldehydes as precursor molecules in a photocatalysis reaction.

Exercise and time-restricted feeding can improve metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), but the molecular mechanisms remain unclear. A new study in eGastroenterology identifies miR-802 as a key molecular mediator regulated by PPARγ and targeting Psmd2. In mouse and cell models, blocking miR-802 reduced liver fat accumulation, while restoring miR-802 weakened the protective effects of exercise and dietary timing, revealing a potential therapeutic pathway.

Phenol is an organic compound that is considered a “platform molecule.” These molecules come from sustainable organic matter and can be used as a building block for other chemical compounds. Because phenol has high oxygen content and is too stable, it hasn’t been used to develop fuel. By adding hydrogen through a process called hydrogenation, phenol can be converted to cyclohexanone or cyclohexanol.

Shanghai, July 18--At the "AI for the Real World" forum during the 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC), YUAN Yang, Associate Professor at Tsinghua University's Institute for Interdisciplinary Information Sciences, delivered a keynote speech--Calculus of Intelligence: A Theoretical Framework for Agents and unveiled iFuture, a new academic journal focusing on artificial intelligence(AI), alongside its supporting platform, Oscholar, demonstrating a fresh approach to academic publishing and research paradigms in the age of AI.

Dual-atom catalysts (DACs) show great promise in catalyzing oxygen reduction/evolution reactions (ORR/OER), yet facing significant challenges in achieving simultaneous high catalytic activity and stability in zinc–air batteries (ZABs). In this study, we synthesized a porous three-dimensional carbon aerogel anchored with atomically isolated FeN₄/NiN₄ dual sites and Ru₆ nanoclusters (FeN₄–Ru₆–NiN₄@PCA) to address these challenges. The adjacent Ru₆ nanoclusters effectively regulate the geometric structures of FeN₄ and NiN₄ sites and catalyze the formation of a highly graphitic carbon matrix. These structural features endow FeN₄–Ru₆–NiN₄@PCA with remarkable ORR/OER activity and stability, outperforming counterparts with only FeN₄/NiN₄ dual species and benchmark Pt/C and RuO₂ catalysts. Density functional theory calculations reveal that Ru6 clusters induce obvious electron redistribution of FeN₄/NiN₄ sites and optimize their electron transfer to the key oxygen intermediates (OH*) at the rate-determining steps, thereby accelerating the ORR and OER kinetics. When employed FeN₄–Ru₆–NiN₄@PCA as the cathode catalyst in ZABs, the resulting ZAB delivers a peak power density of 197.76 mW cm^–2 and demonstrates outstanding cycling stability over 2000 h, highlighting its great potential for use in applications of energy storage device.

Low thermal conductivity of β-Ga₂O₃ can restrict power density and accelerate device degradation of β-Ga₂O₃-based power electronics. To alleviate the thermal management problem, researchers developed a Ga-assisted strategy to realize high-quality β-Ga₂O₃ film epitaxy on diamond. The constructed β-Ga₂O₃/Diamond heterostructure presents superior thermal boundary conductance (165.4 MW⋅m⁻²⋅K⁻¹) and ultra-high interfacial fracture strength (> 2.09 GPa). The identified new interfacial phonon mode at ~60 meV can significantly enhance the phonon transport between diamond and β-Ga₂O₃.

It has been a challenge that Dirac points in topological acoustics are typically pinned in reciprocal space, restricting versatile applications for wave steering and manipulation. Now, an article shows that Dirac points can be moved arbitrarily across the Brillouin zone by independently adjusting coupling strengths in a 2D sonic crystal. This enables a full-space scanning topological antenna and an acoustic heterostructure for fully angle-tunable Klein tunneling. Both passive devices surmount the angle-tuning barrier, offering a new paradigm for classical wave control.

Researchers from the Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, have developed a new radiative transfer model named CARE-RTM that simulates the propagation of sunlight through the atmosphere and ocean with improved precision and computational speed. The model provides a physical tool for extracting climate and environmental information from satellite data.

High numerical aperture fluorescence microscopy can reveal fine biological detail, yet its shallow depth of field makes thick multicolor samples challenging to image without axial scanning. Researchers developed MANTIS, a single shot computational microscope that combines a learned meta-optic with neural reconstruction to generate sharp multispectral fluorescence images in samples up to 50 micrometers thick at NA 1.1. The method expands imaging depth and suppresses defocus blur, enabling clearer visualization of thick biological samples.

In recent years, rapidly advanced space technology has resulted in a growing number of objects in orbit, including both operational and decommissioned spacecraft, as well as space debris, which pose potential threats to China’s on-orbit spacecraft. To ensure the safe operation of spacecraft in near-Earth and high-orbit environments, a key research focus in the field of space technology is the high-resolution and high-accuracy detection and perception of environmental objects under strong backlight conditions. Such capabilities are critical for providing timely early warnings to on-orbit spacecraft. However, a plethora of studies have demonstrated marked challenges in imaging dark and weak targets under strong light backgrounds. It is essential to analyze the challenges of current backlight imaging technologies, summarize the working principles of existing backlight detection methods, and explore future development trends.