Microplastics are chemically active and could cause biological harm
Plastics are supposed to be chemically inert. It's the reason they're used so frequently to package food, bottle water and create children's toys: They're safe. But something impo…
Could a molecular ZIP code unlock treatments for untreatable diseases?
Imagine a medicine that stops seizures at their source, switches off instructions that keep a cancerous tumor growing and prevents Alzheimer's from stealing memories and wreaking …
Jamming the flow to enable memory in quantum materials
Understanding and controlling phase transitions are fundamental to physics and central to many technological revolutions. There is currently strong interest in materials with coup…
Quantum network test checks entanglement without having to trust detectors
Quantum networks are systems that connect different users or devices using principles of quantum mechanics. In the future, these networks could help improve the security of commun…
Ultrashort laser pulses offer a new way to probe electrons' quantum geometry
Researchers at Friedrich Schiller University Jena and the University of Regensburg have developed a method for determining, using light, a quantum property of electrons that has h…
Optical skyrmions can control the motion of magnetic skyrmions
Magnetic skyrmions (MSks) are swirling patterns of magnetization that form inside certain magnetic materials. They can behave like actual particles in many ways, exhibiting a stab…
Patterned X-rays map 3D chemical structures faster with fewer measurements
Seeing inside an object is one thing; seeing exactly what it is made of, in three dimensions, is far more difficult. Now, researchers at Bar-Ilan University and collaborating inst…
Computational model guides lighting design to improve color discrimination in aging eyes
Researchers have developed a new computational model that accounts for the effects of aging on our eyes' ability to discriminate color. It could help guide lighting designs that m…
Could meditation reveal an SU(3) symmetry shared by the observer and the universe?
You sit down to meditate. A conversation returns, then thoughts. You bring your attention back to the breath. Sometimes, after many such returns, the effort eases. Thoughts lose t…
'Carpet' growth method yields long-sought 2D quantum material
For decades, physicists have sought a practical two-dimensional topological insulator: an ultrathin material whose interior blocks electricity but whose edges conduct it. In ordin…
Faster molecular simulations identify promising diamond defects for quantum computers and sensors
A faster way of finding the best diamond-based materials for quantum computers has been developed by a researcher at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics…
New topological microscope tip reveals evidence of 2D altermagnetism
Researchers have fashioned a layered topological material into a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) tip that senses spin-related electronic states at atomic resolution.
Quantum physicists trace a century of controlling spin
A concept from the field of quantum mechanics, spin is a property of particles that has no direct counterpart in everyday experience. Since the early 20th century, researchers hav…
New electrochemical sensor could make food quality testing faster and less expensive
Researchers at the Oregon State University College of Science have developed a new electrochemical sensor for rapidly and accurately detecting a naturally occurring compound widel…
A new way to replace carbon with nitrogen atoms could lead to better medicines
When drugmakers want to improve on compounds they have already created, they can replace a carbon atom with a nitrogen atom. While effective, the techniques they use to perform th…
Chemical surroundings, not size alone, help glucose-processing enzyme stay active as temperatures rise
Cells must produce energy despite changing conditions. But what keeps metabolic enzymes functional during temperature fluctuations? A team led by professor Simon Ebbinghaus and Dr…
Powerful X-rays reveal unexpected roles for water in enzymes linked to cancer and penicillin
In biology, a group of enzymes called 2-oxoglutarate-dependent oxygenases is responsible for catalyzing a wide range of reactions that play a role in everything from how genetic c…
Stabilizing a simple amino acid opens a path to biodegradable sensors
The humble amino acid glycine—the simplest of all amino acids—is everywhere. The human body produces it, and it helps make up our skin, bones and ligaments. It's found in meats li…
Gravity and quantum information linked through a derivation of Einstein's equations
Recent research shows that gravity and quantum information are deeply connected and that the shape of spacetime can be traced back to the way information is stored in quantum fiel…
Magnetic sculpting transforms single-source fields into predetermined shapes with mathematical precision
Magnetic fields are invisible yet essential components in technologies ranging from MRI scanners and particle accelerators to atomic clocks and future quantum computers. Each of t…
Chemical disorder gives new ceramic film magnetic properties for potential low-power electronics
A material thinner than a human hair may foster faster computing devices that demand less energy and store more data, according to a multi-institutional team led by researchers in…
From nonmagnetic to magnetic: A 2D semiconductor with electrically tunable magnetism
Researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS), in collaboration with scientists from institutions in Switzerland, the Czech Republic and Germany, have demonstrated a…
Vapor-based method creates ultralight aerogels without conventional liquid-based chemistry
Researchers at National Taiwan University (NTU), working across the College of Engineering, College of Medicine and National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH), have developed a ne…
High-speed microscopy captures sugar-building enzymes forming rigid pairs and flexible assemblies
From a rigid molecular pair to flexible assemblies with moving domains, the enzymes that build sugar chains display strikingly different behaviors.