Researchers from the Wuhan Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) have built the Chinese Seed Trait Database (CSTD), which has been published in New Phytologist. This innovation overcomes longstanding language barriers (e.g., Chinese-to-English data translation) and enhances the completeness of global seed trait data, providing an invaluable resource for advancing large-scale plant science research.

Large yellow croaker is one of the species with the highest production of marine fish culture in China. Germplasm resources are the indispensable material basis for the healthy and sustainable development of large yellow croaker aquaculture industry. It is of great significance to systematically carry out the collection and preservation, identification and evaluation, and germplasm innovation of large yellow croaker germplasm resources.

Researchers engineered a Ni/Mo₂CT_x MXene catalyst that undergoes transformation during the CO₂ thermocatalytic hydrogenation, reducing the Ni particle size from 12.9 to 3.1 nm and increasing CO selectivity from 21.1% to 92.6% while maintaining CO₂ conversion. This change stems from strong Ni-Mo interactions that enhance electron transfer. Mechanistic studies indicate that this dynamic structural evolution suppresses the formate pathway and leads to a product selectivity shift from methane to CO, providing a strategy for creating robust and selective MXene-based catalysts.

The commercialization of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) has garnered worldwide attention and many efforts were devoted on the improvement of efficiency and stability. Here, we estimated the cost effectivities of PSCs based on the current industrial condition. Through the analysis of current process, the manufacturing cost and the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) of PSCs is estimated as 0.57 $ W^-1 and 18–22 US cents (kWh)^-1, respectively, and we demonstrate the materials cost shares 70% of the total cost. Sensitivity analysis indicates that the improvement of efficiency, yield and decrease in materials cost significantly reduce the cost of the modules. Analysis of the module cost and LCOE indicates that the PSCs have the potential to outperform the silicon solar cells in the condition of over 25% efficiency and 25-year lifetime in future. To achieve this target, it is essential to further refine the fabrication processes of each layer in the module, develop stable inorganic transport materials, and precisely control material formation and processing at the microscale and nanoscale to enhance charge transport.

Soft electronics, which are designed to function under mechanical deformation (such as bending, stretching, and folding), have become essential in applications like wearable electronics, artificial skin, and brain-machine interfaces. Crystalline silicon is one of the most mature and reliable materials for high-performance electronics; however, its intrinsic brittleness and rigidity pose challenges for integrating it into soft electronics. Recent research has focused on overcoming these limitations by utilizing structural design techniques to impart flexibility and stretchability to Si-based materials, such as transforming them into thin nanomembranes or nanowires. This review summarizes key strategies in geometry engineering for integrating crystalline silicon into soft electronics, from the use of hard silicon islands to creating out-of-plane foldable silicon nanofilms on flexible substrates, and ultimately to shaping silicon nanowires using vapor–liquid–solid or in-plane solid–liquid–solid techniques. We explore the latest developments in Si-based soft electronic devices, with applications in sensors, nanoprobes, robotics, and brain-machine interfaces. Finally, the paper discusses the current challenges in the field and outlines future research directions to enable the widespread adoption of silicon-based flexible electronics.

As an emerging memory device, memristor shows great potential in neuromorphic computing applications due to its advantage of low power consumption. This review paper focuses on the application of low-power-based memristors in various aspects. The concept and structure of memristor devices are introduced. The selection of functional materials for low-power memristors is discussed, including ion transport materials, phase change materials, magnetoresistive materials, and ferroelectric materials. Two common types of memristor arrays, 1T1R and 1S1R crossbar arrays are introduced, and physical diagrams of edge computing memristor chips are discussed in detail. Potential applications of low-power memristors in advanced multi-value storage, digital logic gates, and analogue neuromorphic computing are summarized. Furthermore, the future challenges and outlook of neuromorphic computing based on memristor are deeply discussed.

The origin of near-infrared (NIR) emission by Mn²⁺ has sparked intense academic debates for decades. However, to date, none of the proposed hypotheses have garnered widespread consensus. This study validates that Mn²⁺ positioned within a 6-coordinate octahedral lattice, exhibiting a strong crystal field akin to the AlO₆ site, possesses the capability to produce NIR emission. The results of this study offer a novel perspective for the progress of efficient Mn²⁺-doped NIR phosphors.

The NEAL team at the University of South China has successfully developed HARMONY2.0, an upgraded version of their higher-order modes diffusion code HARMONY1.0. By adopting a hybrid two-step methodology combining MC(Monte Carlo) homogenization and deterministic higher-order modes calculation, this advancement addresses the limitations of deterministic methods in handling complex geometries and energy spectrum adaptation, while avoiding the computational inefficiency inherent to MC approaches. The integration of OpenMP-based parallel computing further accelerates the process, significantly enhancing the capability for reactor higher-order modes analysis. This progress provides critical technical support for key applications such as reactor reactivity measurements and online monitoring.