Collagen, a prevalent and predominant part of the structure of bodies, still has some mystique surrounding the finer aspects of its existence. Here, researchers look into the mechanism of orientation within collagen to elucidate some of the lesser-known aspects of this protein and how it can be used in future applications.

Deep-blue perovskite light-emitting diodes (PeLEDs) based on reduced-dimensional perovskites (RDPs) still face a few challenges including severe trap-assisted nonradiative recombination, sluggish exciton transfer, and undesirable bathochromic shift of the electroluminescence spectra. An in situ chlorination (isCl) post-treatment strategy was employed to regulate phase reconstruction and renovate multiple defects of RDPs including halide vacancies and lead-chloride antisite defects. Consequently, deep-blue PeLEDs with a maximum external quantum efficiency of 6.17% at 454 nm were demonstrated.

The development of color routers (CRs) realizes modulation of photon momentum on the frequency and spatial domains. Scientists in China demonstrate an active manipulation of dichromatic photon momentum via electron-induced CRs, where the radiation patterns are manipulated at nanoscale precision within a single nanoantenna unit. Moreover, an encrypted display device based on programmable modulation of the CR array is designed and implemented. This technique will find applications in photonic devices and quantum information technologies.

A research team from the National Institute for Environmental Studies (Japan), Zurich University of Applied Sciences (Switzerland), Tokyo Metropolitan University (Japan), and other institutions (hereinafter referred to as “our research team”) conducted emission tests on aircraft engines and examined the shapes and internal structures of the exhaust particles with high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. Our research team identified novel onion-like (multiple concentric spherical crystal layered) particles and amorphous (non-crystalline) particles, in addition to the well-known soot in the aircraft engine exhausts. The exhaust particles were typically very small (approximately 10–20 nm in diameter) and single spherical particles. Although the detailed physicochemical properties of the onion-like particles are currently unknown, their behaviors in the atmosphere and in the body may be different from other particles. Therefore, further research is required to assess their potential impacts on climate and health.

Butterflies’ flight trajectories often appear random or chaotic, but their hovering patterns can potentially provide critical design insights for developing micro aerial vehicles with flapping wings. Researchers studied how butterflies use aerodynamic force generation to achieve hovering, using high-speed cameras to observe wild-caught white cabbage butterflies and relying on a deep learning model to track the butterflies’ body features and specific wing points during their flight sequences. They found the primary factor contributing to butterflies’ hovering is their body pitch.