A photon that challenges Einstein: According to current physics, it should never have reached Earth
How did a photon survive a journey of more than 2 billion light-years when, according to known physics, it should have been absorbed long before reaching Earth? This is the questi…
New screening system flags food-packaging chemicals linked to serious health risks
Packaged food usually sits in plastic-lined bags designed to keep air, moisture and contaminants out. That same protection can also increase the chances of chemicals from the pack…
Rearranged polymer chains create degradable materials with potential for stronger, tougher packaging
What if the key to making stronger, more sustainable plastics isn't changing their ingredients, but rearranging their molecules? Virginia Tech researchers have put that idea to th…
Weak hydrogen bonds dethrone copper as the most stable metal binder, opening a new path for metal selection
Copper has been knocked off the top of a stability ranking it had dominated for decades. Without altering the atoms directly bonded to the metal, a KAIST research team reversed th…
Inexpensive blue pigment enables efficient one-step conversion of carbon dioxide to methane
A common blue pigment could help turn carbon dioxide (CO₂) from an industrial waste product into a useful fuel. A joint research team led by Tohoku University's Advanced Institute…
Stripped-down LSD reveals structural features linked to hallucinogenic and therapeutic effects
University of California, Davis, researchers have stripped down LSD to the base features responsible for its hallucinogenic and therapeutic effects.
Slender crystal's blue-to-yellow glow could make invisible forces visible
Applying pressure to luminescent organic crystals usually brings molecules closer together and weakens their fluorescence. Materials that instead brighten and undergo a large colo…
Reversible electric control unlocks persistent chiral phonon states
Atoms in a material are rarely still. They jiggle back and forth in collective lattice vibrations known as phonons. Their motion can also carry a rotational element: In 2023, scie…
Entangled particles revive a 35-year-old test of the Standard Model
Physicists at the BESIII Collaboration have breathed new life into a decades-old test of one of the Standard Model's most important ideas, using a technique that had gone almost u…
Dark plasma regions reveal overlooked source of reactive atomic oxygen
Scientists from Tokyo Metropolitan University have found a way to make plasma more effective for its wide-ranging uses, from antimicrobial applications to surface conditioning in …
Tiny polymer particles keep water jets stable for longer
Tiny, soft polymer particles—known as microgels—can help to stabilize extremely thin liquid jets. How this works is the finding of a study led by researchers at TU Darmstadt, whic…
New blending method gives common polymers a visible, reversible stress signal
Polymeric materials, such as plastics and rubbers, are essential in everyday life. However, detecting where mechanical stress is concentrated inside them remains a challenge.
Three quantum phases in chromium-based material hint at a spin-triplet superconductor
Superconductors are materials that conduct electricity without electrical resistance when cooled below a specific critical temperature. These materials have proved promising for t…
Small molecular substitutions reshape energy pathways behind aggregation-induced emission
Certain chemical substances, broadly called luminogens, have an inherent ability to emit light. Most fluorescent molecules emit light in solution but lose their emission in the so…
Levitated magnet opens new frontier in search for ultraheavy dark matter
Rice University researchers have used a magnetically levitated particle to search for ultraheavy dark matter, extending the hunt for some of the heaviest possible forms of the inv…
A new type of LED light could bring significant efficiency gains
Researchers at Lund University have developed a new type of light-emitting diode based on thin, branched nanowires that could offer significantly higher efficiency and lower produ…
Magic-angle graphene provides evidence for unconventional superconductivity
Researchers have completely suppressed superconductivity in magic-angle graphene by screening interactions between electrons, helping resolve a long-running debate about the origi…
New AI tool maps the hidden universe of small molecules
The human body and its gut microbiome produce thousands of small molecules that shape how the body functions—influencing immunity, metabolism and more. Identifying what those mole…
Before mixing starts, initial catalyst structure governs fuel-cell ink dispersion
Researchers from Kanazawa University, the University of Tokyo and HORIBA, Ltd. have shown that the initial state of platinum-on-carbon (Pt/C) catalyst particles before they are mi…
Embedded platinum channels bring nanoscale spin-based thermoelectric conversion to bulk materials
A joint research team from NIMS and the University of Tokyo has developed a new composite in which three-dimensional nano-interfaces are distributed throughout the material by coa…
Sound waves and water droplets transform paper waste into higher-value chemical compound
Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have developed a fast, simple way to turn lignin, a plentiful plant-based byproduct of the papermaking industry, into po…
'Soft crosslinking' strategy makes brittle, glassy plastics tougher
Glassy polymers are those whose chains become immobilized below their glass transition temperature. The immobilized chains make them hard and stiff but also brittle, causing them …
Ultrafast electrons and lasers reveal unexpectedly strong radiation signals in common semiconductors
Detecting radiation is key to technologies ranging from particle accelerators and scientific instruments to medical imaging and security screening. But current detectors must ofte…
Ultrafast sample spinning improves protein structural data by dizzying proportions
Researchers have been elucidating the structures of complex molecules for more than 100 years using a variety of techniques. Some molecular structures, however, are more difficult…