Viral proteins typically exist in the context of complex virions or in the even more complex host cells in which they replicate. Hence, meaningful insights into virus protein structure often need to account for this context. Various flavors of in situ cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM), such as cryo-electron tomography, are key methods for the contextual study of virus protein structure in pleomorphic virions and host cells. Here, we review recent in situ cryo-EM work on three selected phenomena in RNA virus replication: the maturation and nuclear entry of HIV-1, the membrane-bound replication organelles of positive-sense RNA viruses, and the membrane-less viral factories of negative-sense RNA viruses. We highlight cases where the imaged phenomena are targets of novel antiviral drugs (such as the recently approved antiretroviral Lenacapavir), drug candidates, and antiviral strategies. Finally, we discuss recent technical advances that extend the reach of in situ cryo-EM in virology.

Accurate blast models are essential for disaster management and emergency preparedness. Semi-empirical methods, which rely on free-field assumptions, struggle to provide precise data for complex building shapes because they ignore shock wave reflections. This research numerically investigates the effects of an explosion on a large building of complex geometrical configuration using blastFoam, estimating the façade damage and assessing risks to occupants. To evaluate the importance of accurately modelling the building’s geometry, four levels of detail were considered. Additionally, simulations were also performed using the Load Blast Enhanced (LBE) method from LS-DYNA to compare the estimates of this faster semi-empirical approach with those obtained through CFD analyses. The findings reveal that simpler CFD models are adequate for façade analysis and injury assessment around the building but fall short for predicting injury distribution within interior spaces or between buildings. The LBE underestimates both structural damage and human injury levels, while detailed CFD highlights the importance of accounting for interior walls and windows to enhance blast pressure predictions.

In this work, fully patterned zinc tin oxide (ZTO) memristors are introduced using inkjet printing. By targeting a scalable, solution-based fabrication approach, highly stable devices with excellent reproducibility and minimal variability are achieved, using ZTO as the active layer, silver (Ag) as the top electrode, and molybdenum as the bottom electrode. The use of sustainable materials like ZTO enhances scalability and environmental compatibility, paving the way for next-generation, low-power neuromorphic computing. The devices successfully fulfill the fundamental criteria for in materia implementation of physical reservoir computing (PRC), including nonlinearity and fading memory property. The devices are successfully trained for classification tasks with MNIST handwritten dataset, achieving 89.4% accuracy and 86.5% by processing 4-bit and 5-bit input temporal sequences. The integration of printed memristors into hardware-based PRC architecture simplifies training complexity, making them particularly advantageous for energy-efficient, wearable AI systems.

For reconfigurable radios where the signals can be easily routed from one band to another band, new radio frequency switches (RF) are a fundament. The main factor driving the power consumption of the reconfigurable intelligent system (RIS) is the need for an intermediate device with static power consumption to maintain a certain surface configuration state. Since power usage scales quadratically with the RIS area, there is a relevant interest in mitigating this drawback so that this technology can be applied to everyday objects without needing such a high intrinsic power consumption. Current switch technologies such as PIN diodes, and field effect transistors (FETs) are volatile electronic devices, resulting in high static power. In addition, dynamic power dissipation related to switching event is also considerable. Regarding energy efficiency, non-volatile radio frequency resistive switch (RFRS) concept may be better alternative solution due to several advantages: smaller area, zero-hold voltage, lower actuation bias for operation, short switching time, scalability and capable to be fabricated in the backend-of-line of standard CMOS process.