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June 10^th 2025

💻 Technology

🇨🇳 🇦🇹 🇮🇹 🇬🇧 Chinese-led quantum system outperforms classical AI, enabling energy-efficient machine learning

An international team featuring researchers from China, Austria, Italy, and the UK has demonstrated that a photonic quantum processor can outperform classical AI in a real-world data classification task - marking one of the first practical examples of quantum advantage in machine learning. Published in Nature Photonics, the study revealed that the quantum system made fewer errors and consumed significantly less energy, highlighting its potential for greener, more efficient AI. This breakthrough suggests current quantum hardware can already deliver meaningful performance gains in AI applications.

🌎 Sustainability

🇭🇰 Hong Kong innovators develop portable AI recycling system to tackle urban lithium battery waste

Achelous Pure Metals, a Hong Kong-based startup, has created a robot-assisted, AI-powered recycling system to process non-EV lithium-ion batteries directly in cities. The system separates and recovers critical metals like lithium, cobalt, and nickel using vacuum treatment and nanoparticle-based filtration, reducing reliance on centralized recycling plants. Highlighting its scalability and eco-friendliness, the company aims to expand across Southeast Asia to address growing e-waste and support compliance with tightening global recovery regulations.

🇺🇸 🇯🇵 US and Japanese researchers reveal E. coli can exhale electricity, enabling bio-batteries and carbon capture

Scientists at Rice University and UC San Diego have discovered how E. coli bacteria generate electricity by expelling electrons using small molecules and common enzymes - a process called extracellular electron transfer. Published in Cell, the study shows that this electricity-breathing trait could be harnessed to power bio-electronic devices, treat wastewater, or capture carbon using renewable energy. The simplicity of the mechanism suggests it may be widespread in nature, opening new paths for sustainable biotech solutions.

💊 Healthcare

🇦🇺 Australian scientists create nanoparticles to expose dormant HIV, marking huge breakthrough toward a cure

Researchers from the Peter Doherty Institute in Melbourne have developed a novel lipid nanoparticle (LNP) system, dubbed LNP X, capable of delivering mRNA into white blood cells to expose hidden, dormant HIV - a major step toward a functional cure. Published in Nature Communications, the study demonstrates how this engineered LNP can instruct infected cells to reveal the virus, overcoming a long-standing barrier in HIV cure research. While still in early stages, the approach shows extraordinary promise and could eventually aid treatments for other immune-related diseases.

🇬🇧 UK researchers develop 5-minute STI test to curb superbug spread and speed up treatment

A team from the UK-based company Linear Diagnostics, spun out from the University of Birmingham, has developed a rapid STI test that delivers lab-quality results in just five minutes using ultra-fast EXPAR DNA amplification. Targeting infections like gonorrhea and chlamydia, the test avoids lab processing, enabling diagnosis and treatment during a single clinic visit - crucial for halting transmission and tackling antibiotic resistance. The innovation, which builds on technology previously published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is being finalized with funding from the NIHR for real-world validation and clinical trials.

🇺🇸 US researchers create ultrasound toothbrush to detect gum disease painlessly and accurately

Scientists in the US have developed a toothbrush-shaped ultrasound device that can scan gums and teeth to detect gum disease without the discomfort of traditional metal probes. In tests published in ACS Sensors, the high-frequency ultrasound tool matched the accuracy of standard methods while imaging hard-to-reach areas like molars, offering a less invasive, patient-friendly approach. With clinical trials planned, this innovation could transform dental care by enabling earlier detection and more comfortable monitoring of periodontal health.

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See you soon,

Max

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