Dark ovals in Jupiter's polar haze, visible only at UV wavelengths, were first noticed 25 years ago, then ignored. A UC Berkeley study shows that these dark UV ovals are common, appearing at the south pole in 75% of Hubble Space Telescope images taken since 2015. They appear less often at the north pole. The scientists theorize that a magnetic vortex generated in the ionosphere stirs up and concentrates the hydrocarbon haze that blankets the poles.

Energy harvesting is an active area of research that aims to recover and reuse energy that otherwise goes waste. Heat, for example, is a one such energy drain. On a level considered significant, heat loss accompanies large scale industrial manufacturing, processes that generate and transport energy, as well as installations such as large data centres. Several technologies attempt to harvest part of this waste heat and put them to reuse. The enterprise of thermoelectrics is one such technology, and thermoelectric devices that make use of organic semiconductors are often spoken of as having much promise. This is down to their composition from earth abundant elements, their ability to be cheaply manufactured, and their ability to be deployed over large areas.

The author summarized the traditional and emerging methods for circRNA detection as well as the advantages and limitations, and look forward to future research directions.

Recently, a research team led by Professor JIANG Changlong at the Institute of Solid State Physics, the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, has developed a new donor-acceptor (D-A) type fluorescent dye called AFL. This dye changes its fluorescence color and intensity depending on solvent polarity and temperature, making it useful for quick visual monitoring.

A collaborated team led by researchers from the Institute of Solid State Physics, the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Acadamy of Sciences, enables the efficient construction of gold microsphere array-based anisotropic conductive adhesives film (ACF) for advanced packaging. 

A research team led by associate Prof. YIN Lihua from Institute of Solid State physics, the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences developed a new route based on lattice disorder effect to improve electrocaloric effect in BaTiO₃-based systems.