The University of Vermont will coordinate a $19 million, five-year National Science Foundation project to design and test a national observatory for exploring life’s smallest structures in three dimensions. Working with UC San Diego, researchers will combine advanced electron microscopy, artificial intelligence and powerful computing to expand access to imaging capabilities currently concentrated in specialized laboratories. Pilot studies will investigate how learning changes brain wiring, how vision varies across species, how a parasite crosses the blood-brain barrier, and how single-celled organisms are organized. The project will lay the groundwork for a shared national resource serving researchers across biology and medicine.

Sharks can hear – and react to – underwater sounds from nearly 250 feet away, according to a new study that provides the first quantified evidence of long-distance sound detection in free-swimming sharks. Researchers found that blacktip sharks rapidly changed course when they detected low-frequency sounds, revealing that they not only hear distant sounds but also determine where they are coming from. The findings also show sharks are more sensitive to lower-frequency sounds, providing new insight into how these ancient predators sense their underwater world.

The development of cost-effective carrier-selective passivating contacts is critical for enhancing the commercial feasibility of silicon compound solar cells. Molybdenum oxide (MoO_X) has garnered considerable interest as a promising hole transport layer (HTLs). A key advantage of MoO_X is high work function, in addition to the low-cost processability. However, in silicon photovoltaics, MoO_X-based p-type contacts face fundamental limitations at hydrogenated amorphous silicon (i-a-Si:H)/MoO_X interface, where oxygen vacancy defects lower work function, as well as, weak van der Waals-dominated interactions impair charge carry transport. To address these challenges, we introduced an ultrathin phosphomolybdic acid (PMA) interlayer at the i-a-Si:H/MoO_X interface. PMA passivated oxygen vacancy defects, resulting in a notable improvement in open-circuit voltage from 713 to 730 mV, and 0.11 eV work function elevation via dipole formation; meanwhile, PMA strengthened the interfacial bonding energy, reducing saturation current density and contact resistance by 63% and 24%, respectively, contributing to a fill factor enhancement from 83.7% to 84.9%. In the end, we demonstrated a record efficiency of 24.9% for MoO_X-based silicon solar cells, which provides valuable insights for developing high-performance MoO_X HTL devices for dopant-free p-type contact technologies.

A research team led by Dr Lukas Schrader from the University of Münster (Germany) shows that the evolution of ants received a boost thanks to the activity of mobile DNA elements.

A new review traces more than 70 years of microecology research in China, from early ideas about microbial balance to today’s work in precision medicine, sustainable agriculture and environmental restoration. The authors argue that combining artificial intelligence, synthetic biology and international collaboration could help turn microbiome science into practical solutions for human, animal and environmental health.