For more than three decades, one of the biggest obstacles to unlocking the potential of transition-metal dichalcogenide (TMDC) nanotubes has remained unresolved: how to precisely control their chirality during synthesis.Now, an international research team led by XIANG Rong from the School of Mechanical Engineering at Zhejiang University has achieved the first preferred synthesis of TMDC nanotubes with a well-defined armchair configuration, overcoming a longstanding challenge that has limited the...

The Madagascar periwinkle is an unassuming flowering plant. Hardy, drought-tolerant and common in gardens around the world, it hardly looks like the source of one of modern medicine’s most important anticancer drugs.Yet the plant remains the only known natural source of vinblastine, a chemotherapy drug widely used to treat leukemia, lymphoma and several other cancers. The problem is that vinblastine occurs in exceedingly small amounts: producing just one gram requires roughly 2,000 kilograms of...

For decades, chemists have assumed that breaking down plastics requires powerful catalysts, high temperatures, and energy-intensive processing. A new study suggests otherwise.A research team led by WANG Yong at Zhejiang University, in collaboration with researchers from Cardiff University (UK), the University of Tokyo (Japan), Zhejiang University of Technology, China Jiliang University and other institutions, has discovered that water and oxygen alone can drive the degradation of common plastics...

The 9th International Conference on Interdisciplinary Urban Studies (City+2026@Mytilene) was successfully held in Mytilene, Greece, from 1–5 July 2026 under the theme “Improving Liveability for Urban and Rural Settings.” Hosted by the University of the Aegean, the conference was jointly organised through the City+ platform in partnership with Zhejiang University, Elsevier, and other international collaborators. Bringing together leading scholars, publishers, policy makers, and early-caree...

For the past decade, under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), ZJU School of Pharmacy has been building bridges between China and Indonesia — through research collaborations, student exchanges, and health products that serve local communities, all rooted in a shared commitment to unlocking the value of traditional medicine.It began with a two-day journey. Professor YU Yongping and his team traveled from China to Jakarta, then overland to Sumatra — traversing dense rainforest and...

On July 16, 2026, the thematic event "Fostering Global Open Science Infrastructure Sharing Network: Open Knowledge and Data for the Science Decade" was held at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France. Participants called for stronger cooperation in open science infrastructure, knowledge and data sharing, and greater efforts to enable open science to better serve the International Decade of Sciences for Sustainable Development, hereinafter referred to as the "Science Decade."...

On June 26, 2026, the ICOM International Committee on Collections in Storage (ICOM Storage) and the International Association of Training in Museology (IATMU) held first joint meeting at Sorbonne Nouvelle University in Paris, under the theme "The Connected Collection: Teaching/Interpreting Objects in Storage." The conference brought together experts from multiple countries to discuss collection-based pedagogy, resource activation, and cross-cultural museum education.A faculty and stude...

Since welcoming its first cohort of undergraduate students in 2016, the International Campus of Zhejiang University has evolved into a premier model zone for international collaborative education. Rooted in China but deeply connected to the world, the campus serves as a launchpad for young talents aiming for the global stage.Partnering with world-renowned institutions, the International Campus of ZJU offers a transformative academic experience. Through an in-depth collaboration with the Uni...

Behind the daily operations of Zhejiang University (ZJU) lies a network of quiet support. Recently, the staff at Yinquan Canteen on campus demonstrated this care by delivering 199 hot meals over nearly four months to a student recovering from a leg fracture, navigating six flights of stairs daily to help his recovery.Late last year, a student surnamed HE suffered a severe leg fracture. Confined to his bed in a sixth-floor dormitory room with no elevator, even getting out of bed was a challenge, ...

Professor Paolo Vincenzo Genovese, a Qiushi Distinguished Professor at Zhejiang University, has been awarded the Knight of the Order of the Star of Italy (Ordine della Stella d’Italia, OSI) by the Italian Republic.The Order of the Star of Italy is one of the highest distinctions bestowed by the Italian government. It recognizes Italian expatriates and foreign nationals who have made extraordinary contributions to promoting friendly relations and cooperation between Italy and other countries acr...