In Nature Communications, a research team affiliated with UNIST present a fully biodegradable, robust, and energy-efficient artificial synapse that holds great promise for sustainable neuromorphic technologies. Made entirely from eco-friendly materials sourced from nature—such as shells, beans, and plant fibers—this innovation could help address the growing problems of electronic waste and high energy use.

Traditional artificial synapses often struggle with high power consumption and limited lifespan. Led by Professor Hyunhyub Ko from the School of Energy and Chemical Engineering, the team aimed to address these issues by designing a device that mimics the brain’s synapses while being environmentally friendly.

How the biodegradable synapse works
The result is a layered struct...

The cosmos has served up a gift for a group of scientists who have been searching for one of the most elusive phenomena in the night sky. Their study, presented in Science Advances, reports on the very first observations of a swirling vortex in spacetime caused by a rapidly rotating black hole.

The process, known as Lense-Thirring precession or frame-dragging, describes how black holes twist the spacetime that surrounds them, dragging nearby objects like stars and wobbling their orbits along the way.

Discovery of ...

Has a crucial component to the development of human medicine been hiding under our feet? Auburn University Assistant Professor of Entomology Clint Penick and a team of graduate students may have found that ants are far ahead of humans in antibiotic innovation. “In our study, we tested how ants use antibiotic compounds to fight off pathogens and asked why their chemical defenses remain effective over evolutionary time,” Penick said.

“Humans have relied on antibiotics for less than a century, yet many pathogens have already evolved resistance, giving rise to ‘superbugs...

A cross-institutional team led by researchers from the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (EEE), under the Faculty of Engineering at The University of Hong Kong (HKU), have achieved a major breakthrough in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) hardware by developing a new type of analog-to-digital converter (ADC) that uses innovative memristor technology. The work is published in Nature Communications.

Challenges with conventional AI hardware
Conventional AI accelerators face challenges because the essential components that convert analog signals into digital form are often bulky and power-consuming...