Terahertz (THz) waves show nontrivial interactions with living systems, but the underlying molecular mechanisms have yet to be explored. Here, we employ DNA origami as a model system to study the interactions between THz waves and DNA structures. We find that a 3-min THz illumination (35.2 THz) can drive the unwinding of DNA duplexes at ∼10 °C below their melting point. Computational study reveals that the THz wave can resonate with the vibration of DNA bases, provoking the hydrogen bond breaking. The cooperation of thermal and nonthermal effects allows the unfolding of undesired secondary structures and the THz illumination can generate diverse DNA origami assemblies with the yield (>80%) ∼ 4-fold higher than that by the contact heating at similar temperatures. We also demonstrate the in situ assembly of DNA origami in cell lysate. This method enables remotely controllable assembly of intact biomacromolecules, providing new insight into the bioeffects of THz waves.

Machine learning models have been widely used for studying thermal sensations.However, the black-box properties of machine learning models lead to the lack of model transparency, and existing explanations for the thermal sensation models are generally flawed in terms of the perspectives of interpretable methods. In this study, we perform an interpretability analysis using the "SHapley Additive exPlanation" (SHAP) from game theory for thermal sensation machine learning models. The effects of different features on thermal sensations and typical decision routes in the models are investigated from both local and global perspectives, and the properties of correlation between features and thermal sensations and decision routes within machine learning models are summarized. The differences in the effects of features across samples reflect the effects of features on thermal sensations not only can be demonstrated by significant magnitudes but also by differentiation. The effects of features on thermal sensations often appear in the form of combinations of two to four features, which determine the final thermal sensation in most cases. Therefore, the neutral environment may actually be a dynamic high-dimensional space consisting of certain combinations of features in certain ranges with changing shapes.

Museum lighting must use a light source suitable for preserving the colours of the objects being lit. This paper examines how prolonged exposure to three light sources typically used in museums affect the chromaticity of five pigments commonly used in Chinese traditional heavy colour painting. The three light sources were tungsten halogen with an infrared filter, metal halide and an RYGB-type LED. The chromaticities of the pigments were measured at regular intervals over 1152 hours of exposure. These data were used to reveal the chromaticity shifts occurring and hence the relative effect of each typical light source. Of the three light sources measured, the RYGB-type LED had the least chromaticity shift, on average. These results provide a database for related research on Chinese traditional heavy colour painting illumination and provide a more general reference for the choice of light source in the design of museum lighting.

Hearing impairment is a common disease affecting a substantial proportion of the global population. Currently, the most effective clinical treatment for patients with sensorineural deafness is to implant an artificial electronic cochlea. However, the improvements to hearing perception are variable and limited among healthy subjects. Moreover, cochlear implants have disadvantages, such as crosstalk derived from the currents that spread into non-target tissue between the electrodes. Here, in this work, we describe terahertz wave modulation (THM), a new, minimally invasive technology that can enhance hearing perception in animals by reversible modulation of currents in cochlear hair cells. Using single-cell electrophysiology, guinea pig audiometry, and molecular dynamics simulations (MD), we show that THM can reversibly increase mechano-electrical transducer (MET) currents (~50% higher) and voltage-gated K + currents in cochlear hair cells through collective resonance of −C=O groups. In addition, measurement of auditory brainstem response (ABR) in guinea pigs treated with THM indicated a ~10 times increase in hearing 3 sensitivity. This study thus reports a new method of highly spatially selective hearing enhancement without introducing any exogeneous gene, which has potential applications for treatment of hearing disorders as well as several other areas of neuroscience.

Optical radiation can cause permanent damage to the colours of high-responsivity Chinese traditional paintings. The white light emitting diode is flexible, efficient and can create similar colour phenomena with different spectra, making it easy to adjust the spectral irradiance distribution according to specific requirements. It is important to establish quantitative influence rules of white light emitting diode narrowband light for protecting traditional paintings, which optimises the constitution and proportion of the white light emitting diode spectrum according to the lowest damage level. In this study, we utilised typical narrowband spectra as light sources to illuminate Chinese traditional heavy colour paintings, and measured the CIELAB colour data periodically. We then calculated the colour difference based on the data and drew corresponding decay curves for the different pigments used. By analysing the quantitative influence characteristics, we were able to determine the quantitative influence and relative influence coefficient of each narrowband light type. These results provide a reference for the spectral irradiance distribution of the minimum-damage white light emitting diode for different heavy colour painting types based on the inorganic pigment characteristics.