In a new study, scientists used nearly every tool in their toolkit — genomics, transcriptomics, greenhouse experiments and advanced statistical methods — to gain new insight into the complex chemical interactions that take place in underground root nodules, where legumes like soybeans exchange vital nutrients with soil microbes called rhizobia.

Researchers have successfully demonstrated a spectrometer that is orders of magnitude smaller than current technologies and can accurately measure wavelengths of light from ultraviolet to the near-infrared. The technology makes it possible to create hand-held spectroscopy devices and holds promise for the development of devices that incorporate an array of the new sensors to serve as next-generation imaging spectrometers.

MIT physicists performed an idealized version of the double-slit experiment, stripping it to its quantum essentials. They confirmed that light exists as both a wave and a particle but cannot be observed in both forms at the same time.

Though scientists have long understood how lightning strikes, the precise atmospheric events that trigger it within thunderclouds remained a perplexing mystery. The mystery may be solved, thanks to a team of researchers led by Victor Pasko, professor of electrical engineering in the Penn State School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, that has revealed the powerful chain reaction that triggers lightning.

Dylan Shropshire, assistant professor of biological sciences, studies Wolbachia, a bacterium that lives inside insect cells and can manipulate reproduction, suppress pathogens, and influence population dynamics—all while being passed maternally from one generation to the next. Originally interested in insect behavior, Shropshire was drawn to microbiomes during his graduate studies at Vanderbilt University, where he began working with Wolbachia. His lab now focuses on understanding how this microbe becomes common across species, populations, and individuals, with implications for public health efforts that use Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes to combat diseases like dengue and Zika. Despite success in some regions, these interventions are often slow or fail due to weak bacterial traits. Shropshire’s team uses fruit flies to study the genetic and cellular mechanisms that underlie Wolbachia’s behavior, including how it spreads, exits and enters host cells, and manipulates reproduction through a process called cytoplasmic incompatibility. Since Wolbachia cannot be cultured outside host cells, the lab develops innovative tools such as genetic insertions and molecular techniques to measure bacterial presence and function. Their work not only aims to answer fundamental questions about microbial ecology and evolution, but also to refine and accelerate the use of Wolbachia as a targeted, sustainable tool for controlling vector-borne diseases.

Tropospheric ozone (O3)  is a concerning pollutant, responsible for reduction in yields of major staple crops like rice, wheat, and maze. In this Journal of Environmental Sciences study, researchers from China and the United States of America found that rising O3 pollution led to national-level wheat, rice, and maize yield losses in China between 2005–2019. This trend was largely mitigated during COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020, indicating the need for an effective emission control policy.

Using computer simulations, University of Wisconsin–Madison mechanical engineers have uncovered a flaw in how rovers are tested on Earth. That error leads to overly optimistic conclusions about how rovers will behave once they're deployed on extraterrestrial missions.

A new study offers the first direct evidence that deep-dwelling mesopelagic fish, which account for up to 94 percent of global fish biomass, excrete carbonate minerals at rates comparable to shallow-water species. The findings validate previous global models suggesting that marine fish are major contributors to biogenic carbonate production in the ocean.