Researchers at KAIST have demonstrated a chip-scale photonic approach for generating ultralow-noise and highly stable microwave and millimeter-wave signals based on optical frequency combs (microcombs), offering a potential pathway toward compact, high-performance frequency sources for next-generation technologies.

High-frequency signals in the tens to hundreds of gigahertz range are essential for emerging applications such as 6G communications, radar, and precision sensing. However, achieving both low noise and high stability at these frequencies remains a fundamental challenge for conventional electronic signal sources.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - April 29, 2026. Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have introduced Bioinspired123D, a generative AI system that translates plain-English design descriptions into executable 3D geometries inspired by biological materials, from crab exoskeletons to horse hoof walls. The work, published in AI for Science, shows that controllable, high-fidelity 3D generation for scientific design does not require massive 3D foundation models.

Developed by graduate student Rachel K. Luu and Professor Markus J. Buehler in MIT's Laboratory for Atomistic and Molecular Mechanics (LAMM), the system departs from mainstream text-to-3D methods that rely on meshes, voxels, or point clouds. Instead, Bioinspired123D generates compact Blender Python scripts — programs that, when executed, produce parametric, smooth, and fabricable structures. This "code-as-geometry" representation makes the resulting designs interpretable, editable, and ready for downstream simulation or 3D printing.

"Biological materials encode an extraordinary amount of design intelligence in their geometry - helicoidal plies in stomatopod clubs, gradient porosity in horse hooves, cellular cores in bird beaks," said Buehler, the McAfee Professor of Engineering at MIT and senior author of the paper. "We wanted to build a system that can take that intuition, expressed in natural language, and turn it directly into structures you can fabricate, without needing a supercomputer to do it."

Recently, the archaeometry team from University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, in collaboration with National Center for Archaeology, Key Laboratory of Archaeological Sciences and Cultural Heritage, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, utilized paleoproteomic technology to reveal that the feather decoration unearthed from Tomb No. 1 at Wuwangdun (Tomb of King Kaolie of Chu) of the late Warring States period (the late 3rd century BCE) were crafted from the feathers of multiple bird species, and that the used animal glue originated from the extinct short-horned water buffalo (Bubalus mephistopheles). This research not only fills the gap in the scientific analysis of archaeological feather remains in China but also extends the known survival time of the short-horned water buffalo by at least 700 years. The related findings were published in Science Bulletin entitled "Proteomic characterization of feather decorations and extinct buffalo glue during early Iron Age China".

For more than a decade, a fundamental mystery has surrounded graphene—the one-atom-thick “wonder material” known for its exceptional strength, conductivity, and transparency. Despite its seemingly simple structure, one basic question has remained unresolved: does graphene attract water, or repel it?

The answer has proven surprisingly elusive. In some experiments, water droplets bead up on graphene, suggesting a hydrophobic (water-repellent) surface. In others, water spreads out, implying hydrophilic (water-attracting) behavior. This contradiction has fueled a long-running scientific debate and created uncertainty for applications such as desalination membranes, hydrogen fuel cells, and nanoelectronic devices, where precise control of water at interfaces is essential.

Hydrogen peroxide is a widely used chemical essential to water treatment, disinfection, and green manufacturing, yet its conventional production relies on energy-intensive and centralized processes. Recent research highlights an emerging electrochemical route that generates hydrogen peroxide directly from oxygen and water under ambient conditions. Central to this approach is the use of noble metal-free single-atom electrocatalysts, where isolated metal atoms embedded in nitrogen-doped carbon precisely steer oxygen reduction toward the desired two-electron pathway. By combining atomic-scale catalyst design with advanced reactor engineering, this strategy offers a cleaner, safer, and more flexible way to produce hydrogen peroxide on demand, opening new possibilities for decentralized and sustainable chemical manufacturing.