Nanoscience News (<front>)

A bioelectronic platform is developed to detect Alzheimer's disease biomarkers in blood extracellular vesicles with unprecedented sensitivity. By integrating transistor technology with microelectrodes, the platform identifies multiple indicators simultaneously in just 20 min, achieving perfect accuracy in clinical tests. This rapid, label-free approach can transform early diagnosis and monitoring of neurodegenerative diseases.

Abstract

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder with no cure, making early diagnosis critical for mitigating its impact. Blood extracellular vesicles (EVs) hold promises as biomarkers for AD diagnosis, but current detection technologies lack the sensitivity and multiplexing capabilities needed for efficient diagnosis. Here, a novel label-free bioelectronic platform is presented based on an organic electrochemical transistor (OECT) integrated with a microelectrode array (MEA) for ultrasensitive detection of AD biomarkers in blood EVs, including amyloid-β (Aβ1-40 and Aβ1-42), total tau (t-tau), and phosphorylated tau (p-tau181). This platform achieves a detection limit as low as the zeptomolar (zM) level, enabling the detection of single-molecule targets. It provides a comprehensive multiplexed diagnostic model capable of delivering results within 20 min. Notably, the systematic integration of multiple AD biomarkers in blood EVs is demonstrated to significantly enhance diagnostic accuracy. This study presents a novel EVs-based multiplexed diagnostic model for AD, correctly classifying all clinical samples (n = 40), far exceeding the accuracy of a single biomarker. With its high sensitivity and rapid turnaround, this platform enables reliable AD diagnosis and holds the potential for tracking disease progression, offering a transformative tool to combat the societal burden of AD.

The future of the automotive energy field is inseparable from the research and application of novel nanomaterials. This review provides a detailed overview of the potential applications of metal single-atom materials in dominating automotive fields, including fuel production, power supply equipment, and exhaust treatment.

Abstract

Automobiles are constantly evolving with advancements in green energy and environmental technologies, e.g., sustainable energy devices, green synthesis, carbon utilization, catalytic exhaust conversion, etc. Therefore, the automotive field has become a complex system engineering, which requires the coordination of these sub-fields for the future vehicle industry. Developing these sub-fields is inseparable from the research and application of novel nanomaterials. Among the nanomaterials that have emerged in recent years, metal single-atom materials (MSAMs) have received particular attention due to their ultrahigh host atom utilization rate and abundant adjustability. MSAMs will likely accelerate vehicle development, which is mainly reflected in transforming energy structures and innovating specific green technologies. Herein, we first concluded the relationship between nanomaterials and sub-applications of automobiles. Then, the progress of large-scale preparation of MSAMs and their potential applications in dominating automotive fields, including fuel production, power supply equipment, and exhaust treatment are systematically summarized. Finally, the possible contributions and impacts of MSAMs on the automotive field are presented. This review aims to provide a systematic summary of MSAMs applied in specific sustainable energy and environmental applications for vehicles, thus achieving the rational design and utilization of atomic-scale modification on nanomaterials for developing a revolutionary automobile transportation system.

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Abstract not available

• Speaker: Prof. Dr. Ryan Gilmour, University of Münster,
• Wednesday 29 October 2025, 14:00-15:00
• Venue: Dept. of Chemistry, Wolfson Lecture Theatre.
• Series: Synthetic Chemistry Research Interest Group; organiser: Dr. Robert J. Phipps.

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title tbc

Abstract not available

• Speaker: Prof. Syuzanna Harutyunyan, University of Groningen.
• Monday 20 October 2025, 14:00-15:00
• Venue: Dept. of Chemistry, Wolfson Lecture Theatre.
• Series: Synthetic Chemistry Research Interest Group; organiser: Dr. Robert J. Phipps.

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LMB Seminar - Modulation of TREM2 function and its role in anti-Amyloid immunotherapeutic approaches

Abstract not available

• Speaker: Christian Haass - Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich
• Tuesday 22 July 2025, 11:00-12:00
• Venue: In person in the Max Perutz Lecture Theatre (CB2 0QH) and via Zoom link https://mrc-lmb-cam-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/96372751903?pwd=C2hRQ8UF0B03vDp6IHGfWuTlsqzrTi.1.
• Series: MRC LMB Seminar Series; organiser: Scientific Meetings Co-ordinator.

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With the growing demand for cell-based therapies, efficient cellular engineering is crucial. This review calls for greater recognition of mechanobiology principles applied through advanced biomaterial designs, mechanical confinement, and highlights recent advances using micro/nanotechnologies to enhance cell manufacturing. Challenges and opportunities are also discussed to encourage further innovation in advanced cell engineering.

Abstract

The rise of cell-based therapies, regenerative medicine, and synthetic biology, has created an urgent need for efficient cell engineering, which involves the manipulation of cells for specific purposes. This demand is driven by breakthroughs in cell manufacturing, from fundamental research to clinical therapies. These innovations have come with a deeper understanding of developmental biology, continued optimization of mechanobiological processes and platforms, and the deployment of advanced biotechnological approaches. Induced pluripotent stem cells and immunotherapies like chimeric antigen receptor T cells enable personalized, scalable treatments for regenerative medicine and diseases beyond oncology. But continued development of cell manufacturing and its concomitant clinical advances is hindered by limitations in the production, efficiency, safety, regulation, cost-effectiveness, and scalability of current manufacturing routes. Here, recent developments are examined in cell engineering, with particular emphasis on mechanical aspects, including biomaterial design, the use of mechanical confinement, and the application of micro- and nanotechnologies in the efficient production of enhanced cells. Emerging approaches are described along each of these avenues based on state-of-the-art fundamental mechanobiology. It is called on the field to consider mechanical cues, often overlooked in cell manufacturing, as key tools to augment or, at times, even to replace the use of traditional soluble factors.

High-performance ultrathin (≈7.8 µm) polycarbonate-based electrolyte (UPCE) is fabricated, without the use of additional liquid additives. The designed UPCE delivers a high ionic conductivity (4.8 × 10−4 S cm−1) and an ultrahigh critical current density (11.5 mA cm−2) at 25 °C. The 4.5 V solid-state Li|LiCoO2 cell demonstrates an ultralong lifespan cycling stability over 1500 cycles at 1 C.

Abstract

Ultrathin solid-polymer-electrolytes (SPEs) are the most promising alternative substituting for the conventional liquid electrolyte to enable high-energy-density, safe lithium-metal-batteries (LMBs). Nevertheless, developing ultrathin SPEs with both high ionic conductivity, and strong Li dendrite retardant is still a significant challenge. Here a scalable fabrication of high-performance ultrathin (≈7.8 µm) polycarbonate-based electrolyte (UPCE) is proposed via electrolyte structural engineering, phase separation-derived poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PVH) porous scaffold, without use of additional liquid additives. The rational electrolyte structural modulation with 1-fluoro-4-(1-methylethenyl)benzene (FMB) enables a weakened Li+-polymer interaction due to weak Li+ solvation with fluorine, benzene ring, facilitates the formation of LiF-rich solid-electrolyte-interphase on Li metal surface. As a result, the designed UPCE delivers a high ionic conductivity of 4.8 × 10−4 S cm−1, an ultrahigh critical current density of 11.5 mA cm−2 at 25 °C. The solid-state Li symmetric cell attains unprecedented ultralong cycling over 6000 h at 0.5 mA cm−2. Furthermore, the Li|LiCoO2 cell cycles stably over 1500 cycles at a high operating voltage of 4.5 V, and the pouch cell can achieve a high energy density of 495 Wh kg−1 excluding the packaging. This work offers a new pathway inspiring efforts to commercialize ultrathin SPEs for high-energy solid-state LMBs.

This study designs modular oligomeric donors (5BDD, 5BDD-F, 5BDT-F, 5BDT-Cl) for ternary OSCs, achieving PCEs >20%. By systematically tuning energy levels, we reveal material compatibility, not HOMO alignment, drive V OC enhancement, suppress ACQ and reduce energy loss, offering new design principles for high-efficiency OSCs.

Abstract

In organic solar cells (OSCs), the ternary strategy is a mainstream approach to obtaining highly efficient OSCs. A deeper understanding of working mechanisms and the material selection criteria for boosting open-circuit voltage (V OC) is essential for further OSC breakthrough. Through a modular design principle, a series of oligomeric donors – 5BDD, 5BDD-F, 5BDT-F, and 5BDT-Cl – with similar molecular configurations but varying HOMO levels is systematically designed. These findings reveal that the HOMO levels of these oligomers have a negligible impact on the V OC of the ternary OSCs. Instead, their excellent compatibility with acceptors played a pivotal role in enhancing V OC. The oligomers effectively suppressed excessive acceptor aggregation and achieved Aggregation-Caused Quenching Suppression (ACQS), strengthening the external electroluminescence quantum efficiency (EQEEL) and reducing non-radiative recombination energy losses. Simultaneously, oligomers fine-tuned and optimized the morphology of the blend films, leading to a higher fill factor (FF) and improved performance. Notably, the 5BDT-F- and 5BDT-Cl-based ternary OSCs achieved impressive power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of 19.8% and 20.1% (certified 19.76%), with FFs of 80.9% and 80.7%, respectively. This work elucidates the unusual role of the third component energy levels on the V OC in ternary OSCs and offers valuable guidance for future OSC design.

A photo-activated Co/Cu dual-atom catalyst on C₃N₄ is developed to construct dynamic catalytic domains, enabling accelerated sulfur redox kinetics and uniform Li₂S deposition. This strategy delivers outstanding rate capability and long-term stability in lithium-sulfur batteries under high-loading and lean-electrolyte conditions, offering new insights into light-driven electrocatalyst engineering.

Abstract

Lithium-sulfur batteries (LSBs) face significant challenges due to sluggish reaction kinetics and the polysulfide shuttle effect. Here, a light-induced anchoring strategy is employed to construct Co/Cu diatomic catalysts (DACs) on C3N4, introducing dual active sites with strong polysulfide adsorption and bifunctional catalytic activity. Upon light excitation, the synergistic Co–Cu interaction induces local electronic redistribution, which triggers broader electronic rearrangement and directional charge carrier migration. This process generates dynamic catalytic domains with enhanced polysulfide adsorption and catalytic conversion capability. These domains not only promote effective photogenerated carrier separation but also play a pivotal role in accelerating sulfur redox kinetics and regulating Li₂S deposition behavior. As a result, the Co/Cu-C₃N₄ cathode exhibits exceptional electrochemical performance, achieving 1200 stable cycles at 8 C with a capacity decay of 0.025% per cycle. Remarkably, under lean electrolyte conditions (E/S = 4 µL mg⁻¹) and ultra-high sulfur loading (14.73 mg cm⁻2), the battery maintains excellent cycling stability. This work offers a conceptual framework for photo-induced catalytic microenvironment design and highlights the potential of spatiotemporal electronic modulation for next-generation photo-assisted energy storage systems.

Introducing a Mg interlayer at the junction simultaneously stabilizes Mg3(Bi,Sb)2 materials and contacts for over 100 days. This dual stabilization derives from suppressing detrimental Mg diffusion and compensating for Mg loss, thereby maintaining an outstanding power density of 0.45 W cm−2 and remarkable conversion efficiency of 8.6% in aged modules, offering new insights for durable thermoelectric energy harvesting.

Abstract

Thermoelectric technology offers a promising pathway toward global sustainability by harvesting waste heat. However, long-term stability is hindered by inevitable elemental diffusion, degrading both the thermoelectric junction and material properties, which prevents the realization of power generation applications. Here, dual and superior stability is achieved in high-performance Mg3(Bi,Sb)2, surpassing prior studies that focus on either junction or material stability. By introducing an Mg layer at the junction, detrimental Mg diffusion is suppressed and compensate for Mg loss in the material, effectively stabilizing both junctions and materials for over 100 days. As a result, a thermoelectric module with 30-day-aged Mg3(Bi,Sb)2 is able to maintain an outstanding power density of 0.45 W cm−2 and remarkable conversion efficiency of 8.6%, demonstrating unprecedented stability. These findings provide new insights into thermoelectric junction engineering, shifting from interface optimization to comprehensive stabilization, advancing the practical viability of thermoelectric energy harvesting for renewable and waste heat applications.

This work proposes a dual sites activation strategy to enhance the nucleophilic of Sn sites and modulate the Cu sites as harder Lewis acid sites by constructing CuS/SnS2 Mott–Schottky catalysts. The optimized charge distribution facilitates the adsorption of CO2 and *OCHO intermediates simultaneously, thus improving formic acid selectivity in acid electrolytes under industrial current densities.

Abstract

Electroreduction of CO2 to formic acid in acidic media offers a promising approach for value-added CO2 utilization. However, achieving high selectivity for formic acid in acidic electrolytes remains challenging due to the competitive hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), particularly at industrially relevant current densities. Herein, a charge redistribution modulation strategy is demonstrated by constructing the CuS /SnS2 Mott–Schottky catalyst to enhance formic acid selectivity. Experiments and calculation results reveal the broadening of Sn orbitals and reduced orbital symmetry of Sn orbitals contribute to enhanced CO2 adsorption, while the modulated Cu sites with a stronger Lewis acid character stabilize *OCHO intermediates more effectively. This enables dual-site activation for efficient CO2 electroreduction into formic acid synthesis. Consequently, the optimized CuS/SnS2 catalysts achieve a maximum formic acid Faradaic efficiency (FE) of 99% in acidic electrolytes and maintain selectivity above 80% at a current density of 1 A cm−2, significantly surpassing the performance of CuS and SnS2 alone. Moreover, the excellent selectivity across pH-universal electrolytes demonstrates that dual-site activation is a promising strategy for designing highly efficient CO2 reduction reaction catalysts.

Ultrathin amorphous CoO nanosheets are synthesized via a low-temperature annealing strategy. Amorphization induces modulated energy levels and an increased population of unpaired electrons in the frontier d-orbitals of Co atoms. These features enhance the 3d yz –2px interactions between the Co center and the C atom in the CO2 molecule, thereby facilitating its adsorption and activation compared to crystalline CoO.

Abstract

Photocatalytic CO2 conversion into syngas presents a sustainable avenue for mitigating carbon emissions while generating value-added fuels. However, sluggish charge carrier dynamics and weak, non-specific interactions between catalytic sites and CO2 molecules limit efficiency. Herein, ultrathin amorphous CoO nanosheets (a-CoO) are reported that integrate structural and electronic advantages for enhanced CO₂ photoreduction. X-ray absorption spectroscopy and density functional theory analyses reveal that amorphization partially transforms the local crystal field of Co from quasi-octahedral to quasi-tetrahedral coordination, resulting in a greater population of unpaired electrons in the frontier d-orbitals. This reconfiguration promotes electron injection from Co 3dyz into the 2π* antibonding orbitals component of C 2px in CO2, which strengthens 3d-2p orbital hybridization and lowers the activation energy barrier. In situ spectroscopic further confirms that this orbital restructuring accelerates charge transfer from the Co center to CO2 and facilitates its activation. Meanwhile, the ultrathin 2D architecture improves the separation and transport of photoexcited carriers. Consequently, vigorous bubbles are observed under visible light irradiation, with a total syngas evolution rate of 23.7 mmol g−1 h−1 (12.6 and 11.1 mmol g−1 h−1 for CO and H2, respectively) and an apparent quantum efficiency of 1.28% at 450 nm—≈8.7-fold improvement over its crystalline counterpart.

Energy Environ. Sci., 2025, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/D5EE02541A, PaperSimin Wang, Ke Xu, Guanglong Ge, Faqiang Zhang, Wangfeng Bai, Fei Yan, Jin Qian, Luomeng Tang, Yang Liu, Chao Sun, Zhongbin Pan, Bo Shen, Zhifu Liu, Houbing Huang, Jiwei Zhai
A novel nanoplex-driven architecture was constructed that integrated short-range ordered antiferroelectric nanodomains with highly disordered relaxor ferroelectrics.
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Energy Environ. Sci., 2025, Accepted Manuscript
DOI: 10.1039/D5EE01702E, PaperXunan Wang, Chongwei Gao, Shuhua Zhang, Jiantao Li, Jiali Wang, Shengdong Lin, Sungsik Lee, Feiyu Kang, Dengyun Zhai
Prussian blue analogues (PBAs) are recognized as promising cathode materials for potassium-ion batteries (PIBs), particularly the low-cost and high-energy K2Mn[Fe(CN)6](KMnF). However, conventional solution-based synthesis inevitably introduces [Fe(CN)6]4- defects and lattice...
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Nature Energy, Published online: 27 June 2025; doi:10.1038/s41560-025-01814-9

Author Correction: Public and local policymaker preferences for large-scale energy project characteristics

Nature Nanotechnology, Published online: 27 June 2025; doi:10.1038/s41565-025-01965-6

The hybridization thermodynamics of programmable DNA nanostructures forming metastable loop structures on RNA generate distinct electrical signals during translocation through solid-state nanopores, enabling the identification of single-base alterations.

The Valencia-Bristol low-level vision MindSet

Recent claims about the superiority of deep-nets to model human vision are based on the reproduction of either (a) neural recordings from different brain layers or (b) high-level behaviors included in Brain-Score. However, high correlations in such tasks do not guarantee the functional similarity of the underlying mechanisms in models and humans. In particular, appart from exceptions (like your work ;-), not many people is looking at the bottleneck of artificial systems as characterized by low-level visual psychophysics. In this talk we present stimuli for 20 different experiments that highlight basic color/texture/motion perception facts, and how the trends of the artificial responses can be used to assess the similarities with human vision.

Recommended reading:

• Li, Gomez-Villa, Bertalmío & Malo Contrast sensitivity functions in autoencoders Journal of Vision (May 2022), Vol.22, 8. doi:https://doi.org/10.1167/jov.22.6.8

• Malo, Vila-Tomas, Hernandez-Camara, Li, Laparra A Turing Test for Artificial Nets devoted to model Human Vision (june 2022) http://isp.uv.es/docs/talk_AI_Bristol_Malo_et_al_2022.pdf

• Malo & Bowers The Low-Level vision MindSet. Talk at the Seminars on Generalisation in Mind and Machine. (sept. 2024) http://isp.uv.es/docs/Low_Level_MindSet_3.pptx

• Speaker: Jesús Malo
• Friday 11 July 2025, 14:30-15:00
• Venue: SS03 - William Gates Building.
• Series: Rainbow Group Seminars; organiser: Yancheng Cai.

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Emerging perceptual properties in foundation models: a vision science perspective

The empirical theory of vision suggests that what we see reflects statistical regularities learned through experience rather than direct representations of physical reality. Recent advances in machine learning, particularly in foundation models, have revealed intriguing parallels with human visual perception. However, the differences between biological and artificial vision systems are equally enlightening, offering unique windows into the nature of visual processing. In this talk, we will discuss how studying these artificial systems can deepen our understanding of human visual processing, while insights from vision science can guide the development of more robust and interpretable deep learning models.

Recommended papers:

• Gomez-Villa, A., Martín, A., Vazquez-Corral, J., Bertalmío, M., & Malo, J. (2020). Color illusions also deceive CNNs for low-level vision tasks: Analysis and implications. Vision Research, 176, 156-174.

• Hirsch, E., & Tal, A. (2020). Color visual illusions: A statistics-based computational model. Advances in neural information processing systems, 33, 9447-9458.

• Huh, M., Cheung, B., Wang, T., & Isola, P (2023). Position: The Platonic Representation Hypothesis. In Forty-first International Conference on Machine Learning.

• Gomez-Villa, A., Wang, K., Parraga, A. C., Twardowski, B., Malo, J., Vazquez-Corral, J., & van de Weijer, J. The Art of Deception: Color Visual Illusions and Diffusion Models. CVPR (2025).

• Speaker: Alexandra Gomez-Villa
• Friday 11 July 2025, 14:00-14:30
• Venue: SS03 - William Gates Building.
• Series: Rainbow Group Seminars; organiser: Yancheng Cai.

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The Most Ambitious Radio Astronomy Endeavour of the 21st Century? Science, Technology and Engineering Dialogues in a Large-scale Project

The presentation will open with some reflections on the early part of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project, where questions asked about engineering realities constraining science aspirations were raised. Early encounters between Scientists and Engineers considered Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) as one of the constraints. Some formative developments of this specific Radio Astronomy (RA) project, with a focus on the XDM , KAT7 and then MeerKAT in South Africa, will be introduced and related to unexpected RFI . The picture will then be widened to unpack an understanding of RFI and ElectroMagnetic Compatibility (EMC) for RA and science projects more generally. Two European examples will be considered. A short diversion into the language that EMC engineers use in RFI and what RA presents as uv-plane data will be taken.

• Speaker: Prof. Howard Reader
• Tuesday 01 July 2025, 11:15-12:00
• Venue: Coffee area, Battcock Centre.
• Series: Hills Coffee Talks; organiser: Charles Walker.

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Title TBC

The presentation will open with some reflections on the early part of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project, where questions asked about engineering realities constraining science aspirations were raised. Early encounters between Scientists and Engineers considered Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) as one of the constraints. Some formative developments of this specific Radio Astronomy (RA) project, with a focus on the XDM , KAT7 and then MeerKAT in South Africa, will be introduced and related to unexpected RFI . The picture will then be widened to unpack an understanding of RFI and ElectroMagnetic Compatibility (EMC) for RA and science projects more generally. Two European examples will be considered. A short diversion into the language that EMC engineers use in RFI and what RA presents as uv-plane data will be taken.

• Speaker: Prof. Howard Reader
• Tuesday 01 July 2025, 11:15-12:00
• Venue: Coffee area, Battcock Centre.
• Series: Hills Coffee Talks; organiser: Charles Walker.

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