Scientists have managed to observe solar neutrinos carrying out a rare atomic transformation deep underground, converting carbon-13 into nitrogen-13 inside the SNO+ detector. By tracking two faint flashes of light separated by several...
Biphenomycins, natural products derived from bacteria, show excellent antimicrobial activity, but have long remained out of reach for drug development. The main obstacle was the limited understanding of how these compounds are produced...
Scientists developed a high-performance hydrogen-production catalyst using lignin, a common waste product from paper and biorefinery processes. The nickel–iron oxide nanoparticles embedded in carbon fibers deliver fast kinetics,...
Scientists have uncovered that some atoms in liquids don't move at all—even at extreme temperatures—and these anchored atoms dramatically alter the way materials freeze. Using advanced electron microscopy, researchers watched molten...
New psychoactive substances, originally developed as potential analgesics but abandoned due to adverse side effects, may still have pharmaceutical value if researchers could nail down the causes of those side effects. A new study from...
Biosensors are helping people with chronic conditions worldwide live better lives. However, their measurement accuracy has often been relatively low, limiting the range of possible applications. Researchers at the Technical University of...
Polydopamine-coated magnetic liposomes offer insight into the lectin–glycan interactions in motion. By observing minute changes in the rotational motion of magnetic nanoparticles under alternating magnetic field, the technique reveals...
Oil-in-water droplets respond to chemical cues by forming arm-like extensions that resemble filopodia, which are used by living cells to sense and explore their environment.
For decades, Arieh Warshel, USC Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and a 2013 Nobel laureate, has used computer simulations to understand how enzymes—fundamental to nearly every biological process in living organisms—carry out the...
SARS‑CoV‑2, the virus that causes COVID-19, continues to mutate, with some newer strains becoming less responsive to current antiviral treatments like Paxlovid. Now, University of California San Diego scientists and an international team...
Researchers at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) have developed a promising new substance for targeting bacteria that cause tuberculosis. The team have produced a compound that inhibits the pathogens' ability to produce...
With climate change and higher incidences of crop diseases, global cocoa production and supply is being threatened. A research team from the National University of Singapore (NUS), motivated by these reports, set out to enhance the taste...
XRISM’s high-precision X-ray data revealed unusually strong signatures of chlorine and potassium inside the Cassiopeia A supernova remnant. These levels are far higher than theoretical models predicted, showing that supernovae can be...
SQUIRE aims to detect exotic spin-dependent interactions using quantum sensors deployed in space, where speed and environmental conditions vastly improve sensitivity. Orbiting sensors tap into Earth’s enormous natural polarized spin...
Scientists have discovered how to electrically power insulating nanoparticles using organic molecules that act like tiny antennas. These hybrids generate extremely pure near-infrared light, ideal for medical diagnostics and advanced...
The copper isotope Cu-64 plays an important role in medicine: It is used in imaging processes and also shows potential for cancer therapy. However, it does not occur naturally and must be produced artificially—a complex and costly process.
Kyushu University scientists have achieved a major leap in fuel cell technology by enabling efficient proton transport at just 300°C. Their scandium-doped oxide materials create a wide, soft pathway that lets protons move rapidly without...
Researchers engineered a strained germanium layer on silicon that allows charge to move faster than in any silicon-compatible material to date. This record mobility could lead to chips that run cooler, faster, and with dramatically lower...
University of Pittsburgh researchers have made an important step toward providing hospitals and water treatment facilities with a safer, greener alternative to chlorine-based disinfection.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is invaluable in the medical world. But despite all the good it does, there is room for improvement. One way to enhance the sensitivity of MRI is dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP), where target molecules...
Researchers have discovered a new way to grow graphene that deliberately adds structural defects to enhance its usefulness in electronics, sensors, catalysts, and more. Using a specially shaped molecule called azupyrene, scientists can...
Macrolactones—large ring lactones—are core components of many natural products and pharmaceutical agents. Traditional synthetic routes rely on seco acids activated with condensing reagents, often requiring harsh conditions or multi-step...
For the first time, MIT chemists have synthesized a fungal compound known as verticillin A, which was discovered more than 50 years ago and has shown potential as an anticancer agent.
The microbes inside our bodies not only help break down food but also impact our health. Yet their precise influence is not always understood, especially in the presence of prescription drugs.
To see if a fish is fresh, people recommend looking at its eyes and gills or giving it a sniff. But a more accurate check for food quality and safety is to look for compounds that form when decomposition starts.
When University at Buffalo chemists analyzed samples of water, fish, and bird eggs, they weren't surprised to find plenty of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). After all, these "forever chemicals" turn up nearly everywhere in...
Nitrogen is a crucial component of proteins and nucleic acids, the fundamental building blocks of all living things, and thus is essential to life on Earth. Gaseous N2 from the atmosphere can be fixed by soil bacteria capable of...
A UC Irvine team uncovered a never-before-seen quantum phase formed when electrons and holes pair up and spin in unison, creating a glowing, liquid-like state of matter. By blasting a custom-made material with enormous magnetic fields,...
An international research team from the Leibniz Institute for Catalysis (LIKAT) has developed a novel, environmentally friendly process for producing high-quality amides from the plant substance lignin—important building blocks for...
Scientists have designed a new type of gas sensor that can tell apart "mirror image" versions of the same smell molecule, even at very low concentrations. By coating carbon nanotubes with custom-built sugar-based receptors, the sensor...
ETH Zurich scientists have found the holy grail of brewing: the long-sought formula behind stable beer foam. Their research explains why different beers rely on different physical mechanisms to keep bubbles intact and why some foams last...
A team of researchers at IOCB Prague headed by Dr. Tomáš Slanina has developed a new method for labeling molecules with fluorescent dyes that surpasses existing approaches in both precision and stability. The new fluorescent label...
Lars Stevens-Cullinane works in a dark room. But he's not processing negatives and printing photographs on light-sensitive paper; he's testing whether brief flashes of light can make drug-resistant bacteria sensitive to antibiotics.
Around 80% of proteins involved in diseases like cancer and neurodegenerative illnesses do not have a stable structure. These proteins, known as intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) can quickly adapt to the conditions in our cells. A...
Researchers from CIIMAR and the University of Helsinki have discovered a new biochemical modification in natural cyanobacterial products, revealing an unprecedented tool with promising applications in biotechnology and drug development.
Water trapped inside tiny molecular cavities behaves in a surprisingly energetic way, pushing outward like people crammed in an elevator. When a new molecule enters these narrow spaces, the confined water forces its way out—boosting the...
A Washington State University research team is working to create an artificial cartilage that is similar to natural cartilage with a recipe that can be corrected along the way.
Scientists have directly measured the minuscule electron sharing that makes precious-metal catalysts so effective. Their new technique, IET, reveals how molecules bind and react on metal surfaces with unprecedented clarity. The insights...
Bioelectronics, such as implantable health monitors or devices that stimulate brain cells, are not as soft as the surrounding tissues due to their metal electronic circuits. A team of scientists from the University of Groningen in the...
For decades, pharmaceutical companies have been using bacteria found in soil and water to chemically convert steroids into effective treatments for human diseases. One example is cortisol, which is used to treat asthma and skin rashes....
Although present in very small amounts, selenium (Se)-based compounds play important roles in protecting the body from oxidative stress, regulating thyroid hormones, strengthening the immune system, and even detoxifying heavy metals. As...
MIT engineers have created an ultrasonic device that rapidly frees water from materials designed to absorb moisture from the air. Instead of waiting hours for heat to evaporate the trapped water, the system uses high-frequency vibrations...
A group of researchers from the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP) in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, developed a product made from native bee honey and cocoa bean shells that can be consumed directly or used as an ingredient in food...
Researchers created scalable quantum circuits capable of simulating fundamental nuclear physics on more than 100 qubits. These circuits efficiently prepare complex initial states that classical computers cannot handle. The achievement...
A new floating droplet electricity generator is redefining how rain can be harvested as a clean power source by using water itself as both structural support and an electrode. This nature-integrated design dramatically reduces weight and...
Researchers engineered “gyromorphs,” a new type of metamaterial that combines liquid-like randomness with large-scale structural patterns to block light from every direction. This innovation solves longstanding limitations in...
Scientists have developed a new way to build rare-earth crystals that boosts quantum coherence to tens of milliseconds. This leap could extend quantum communication distances from city blocks to entire continents. The method uses...
Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have uncovered a trove of complex organic molecules frozen in ice around a young star in a neighboring galaxy — including the first-ever detection of acetic acid beyond the Milky Way....
UC Santa Barbara physicists have engineered entangled spin systems in diamond that surpass classical sensing limits through quantum squeezing. Their breakthrough enables next-generation quantum sensors that are powerful, compact, and...