Titanium dioxide (TiO₂) is an important photocatalytic material, yet its performance is limited by bottlenecks in conventional preparation methods, such as high interfacial resistance and low specific surface area. Recently, a method combining laser cladding with electrochemical dealloying, reported by Frontiers of Materials Science, was used to fabricate porous TiO₂/Cu₂O heterojunction photoanodes from a Cu–Ti precursor.

With the continuous advancement of lithiumion batteries (LIBs), increasing demands have been placed on achieving ultrafast charging capability. Graphite, the dominant commercial anode material, suffers from sluggish ion transport kinetics and interfacial instability, which pose significant challenges to the fast-charging performance of LIBs. Previous strategies, including surface coatings and conductive network construction, often address these challenges in isolation, leading to an inherent tradeoff between structural stability and electrical conductivity. Xu et al. recently reported scalable onestep pyrolysis of pitch that concurrently constructs a conformal amorphouscarbon shell and an integrated graphene network (Gr) on graphite.

A new artificial intelligence (AI) framework offers a more reliable way to restore partially hidden objects in satellite imagery. 

In the advancement of human-machine interaction and intelligent wearable devices, high-performance multifunctional fiber materials are crucial for enabling natural, efficient human-machine interaction and seamless system integration.

As electromagnetic environments become increasingly complex with the transition toward 6G communication technologies, materials that can actively adapt their absorption behavior are urgently needed. Researchers have developed an electrochemically driven, air-breathing ZAB-based device that enables reversible and broadband tuning of microwave absorption by regulating oxygen generation and consumption at the material–air interface.

The rapid rise of IoT and AI is exposing the energy and data movement limits of von Neumann computing. Neuromorphic computing, especially spiking neural networks, offers a compelling alternative but demands compact hardware with neuron like nonlinear dynamics. In the new Nano Research review, Prof. Chuanyu Han’s team highlights recent progress in artificial spiking neurons built from emerging electronic devices, spanning memristor-based and transistor-based implementations. The article distills key spiking mechanisms, practical circuit design templates, and system demonstrations for neuromorphic perception and brain inspired computing, and introduces a rigorous unified benchmarking framework to help compare technologies and accelerate interdisciplinary work across materials science and microelectronics.

Infrared focal plane arrays (FPAs) are image sensors, widely used in thermal imaging systems across various fields. Future advancements in FPAs are expected to require high data rates, which can cause heat leakage from electrical interconnects into FPAs, increasing noise and raising cooling requirements. In a new study, researchers demonstrated cryogenic vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL)-based optical interconnects that can achieve high-speed communication while reducing thermal leakage and power consumption.

Apoptosis, a type of programmed cell death, is essential for staying healthy, and its dysregulation contributes to cancer and developmental disorders. In a recent study, researchers from Japan identified the protein Zbtb38 as a direct regulator of a key apoptosis inhibitor called X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein (XIAP). They showed that Zbtb38 activates XIAP independently of other major regulatory mechanisms, revealing a new pathway for controlling cell survival with potential implications for treating apoptosis-resistant cancers.

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) accounts for more than 90% of oral cancers and remains associated with poor clinical outcomes despite advances in surgery, radiotherapy, and targeted therapies. Resistance to anti-angiogenic treatment remains a major challenge, partly due to vasculogenic mimicry (VM), a process in which aggressive tumor cells form vessel-like networks independently of endothelial cells, thereby supporting tumor growth, invasion, and metastasis.