Goethe University Frankfurt (Germany) ceremonially commissioned a state-of-the-art cryo plasma-FIB scanning electron microscope with nanomanipulator worth more than 5 million euros on Thursday. The large-scale instrument, supported by the Dr. Rolf M. Schwiete Foundation, is the first of its kind in Hesse and one of only a few in Germany. It enables precise nanobiopsies of biological samples such as tissue or cell aggregates and is a key technology for the Cluster of Excellence SCALE, where researchers investigate the molecular foundations of cells.

Researchers at the School of Engineering of The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) have developed the world’s first Sub-Zero Celsius elastocaloric freezing device, capable of reaching temperatures as low as -12℃. This represents a significant milestone in expanding green solid-state elastocaloric refrigeration technology into the global freezing industry, offering a promising solution to combat climate change and accelerate low-carbon transformation of the global freezing market. The findings have recently been published in the international journal Nature, under the title “Sub-zero Celsius Elastocaloric Cooling via Low-transition-temperature Alloys”.

Researchers from the School of Engineering at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) have developed a robust coating layer that significantly enhances the durability of perovskite solar cells. In tests simulating intense midday sunlight at 85°C, these solar cells retained over 95% of their initial efficiency after more than 1,100 hours of continuous operation. This breakthrough demonstrates the real-world application of perovskite cells in outdoor environments, paving the way for durable, high-efficiency, and low-cost solar technology.

This paper addresses carrier aircraft landing scheduling considering bolting and aerial refueling. It defines fuel and wake interval constraints, formulates a combinatorial optimization model, and designs an improved firefly algorithm. A dynamic replanning mechanism handles special situations, and simulations validate the model’s effectiveness in enhancing recovery safety and efficiency.

An international team of astronomers, including researcher from the Department of Physics at The University of Hong Kong (HKU), has uncovered the first decisive evidence that at least some fast radio burst (FRB) sources—brief but powerful flashes of radio waves from distant galaxies—reside in binary stellar systems. This means the FRB source is not an isolated star, as previously assumed, but part of a binary stellar system in which two stars orbit each other.

The study addresses heterogeneous UAV cooperative task assignment under complex constraints via an energy learning hyper-heuristic (EL-HH) algorithm. It designs a three-layer encoded mathematical model, adaptive operator energy adjustment, multiple optimization operators, and task adjustment strategies. Simulations and experiments verify the algorithm’s effectiveness.

The WISE research group (Wearable, Intelligent, Soft Electronics) at The University of Hong Kong (HKU-WISE) have addressed a long-standing bioelectronic challenge: the development of soft, 3D transistors. This groundbreaking work introduces a new approach to semiconductor device design with transformative potential for bioelectronics, which has been featured as the cover story of the prestigious journal Science.