HKUST team unveils innovative technology for precise reading and control of brain circuits to advance brain disease research
Peer-Reviewed Publication
Updates every hour. Last Updated: 8-Jun-2026 14:16 ET (8-Jun-2026 18:16 GMT/UTC)
A cross-disciplinary team led by Prof. QU Jianan, Professor from the Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering and Prof. Julie L. SEMMELHACK, Visiting Assistant Professor from the Division of Life Science at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has developed a powerful laser control technique. Functioning as a “smart dimmer”, it can selectively adjust the brightness of every pixel during laser scanning, and prevent unintended neural activation, thereby significantly enhancing the precision of all-optical brain manipulation and imaging. This innovation will drive research into brain disease mechanisms and facilitate small animal disease models for new drug development. The finding results, titled “Active pixel power control for crosstalk-free all-optical neural interrogation” have been published in the prestigious international journal Nature Communications.
Curtin University has appointed global tech industry leader Carl Solder as Adjunct Professor in a move designed to fast-track innovation and develop the next generation of tech talent. Mr Solder - the Chief Technology Officer of Cisco Australia and New Zealand - brings a wealth of global expertise to Curtin following a 40-year career in Australia, New Zealand, the Asia-Pacific region, and the United States, including 19 years in Silicon Valley.
New research has highlighted how inadequate environmental regulations and assessments of contaminated industrial land in India are endangering human populations and wildlife ecosystems.
New research has revealed dairy calves which are fed less complete tasks faster and remember more in pursuit of milk, but miss out on play.
Researchers have developed a new photocatalyst by anchoring platinum clusters onto covalent organic frameworks, creating "bidirectional electron highways" that boost hydrogen production from water splitting by 109 times. This breakthrough achieves an 80.72% quantum efficiency and exceptional long-term stability.
Researchers studying the diversity of microbes in environmental samples now have access to a new tool that opens the door to cheaper, more accessible analysis of their samples, thanks to a major advance led by scientists at Earlham Institute, Institut Pasteur, and Quadram Institute.
Salk researchers collaborated with scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine to develop a new class of probes for imaging living cells. The probes, called visible-spectrum antigen-stabilizable fluorescent nanobodies (VIS-Fbs), generate high-contrast images with minimal disruption to normal cellular activity. The technology enables more precise investigation of complex biological processes, including cell signaling, development, and disease progression.
In experiments with rice seeds submerged in water, MIT researchers found that the sound of falling droplets shook the seeds out of a dormant state, stimulating them to germinate more quickly than seeds that were not exposed to the same sound vibrations.