At the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA), researchers resemble blacksmiths as they toil with bacteria. When placed in water, E. coli help form gel-like aggregates and, as now demonstrated by the Materiali Molli Lab, rotate tiny hockey puck-like discs by generating torque. Published in Nature Physics, this insight adds to the understanding of bacteria in confined spaces and could lead to the creation of soft materials.

Researchers investigated how the η′ meson behaves inside atomic nuclei and found evidence that it may form bound states known as η′-mesic nuclei. Using high-energy particle experiments and sophisticated data analysis, the team observed signals consistent with theoretical predictions and measured a possible change in the particle’s mass in nuclear matter. These findings provide new insight into the structure of the vacuum and the origin of mass.

POSTECH and Stockholm University observe water’s liquid-liquid critical point, published in Science, following the team’s 2017 and 2020 papers in the same journal. Ten years of persistent research leads to a discovery that could rewrite textbooks

Antibiotic pollution is emerging as a serious global threat, contaminating water systems and contributing to the rise of drug-resistant bacteria. Now, researchers have developed a powerful artificial intelligence tool that can predict how effectively biochar materials break down antibiotics, offering a faster and smarter way to design environmental cleanup technologies.

Biochar, a carbon-rich material made from agricultural waste, has long been valued for improving soil and capturing carbon. Now, a new review highlights a less visible but potentially transformative property that could redefine its role in environmental technology: its ability to move electrons.

Urban green spaces such as parks, gardens, and residential lawns play an essential role in supporting biodiversity, storing carbon, and improving human well-being. However, rapid urbanization is degrading these soils, reducing their fertility and disrupting natural nutrient cycles. A new study reveals that combining biochar and compost can restore soil health, but only under the right conditions, and fungi play a decisive role in determining success.

A new study demonstrates that agricultural waste can be transformed into a powerful, eco-friendly catalyst that dramatically improves the removal of stubborn chemical pollutants from water. Researchers developed a nitrogen-doped biochar made from cotton hulls that enhances ozone-based water treatment efficiency by more than 100 times, offering a promising solution for tackling emerging contaminants.

A five-year field study reveals that biochar can do far more than improve soil chemistry. It can reorganize entire soil ecosystems, creating lasting benefits for agriculture and environmental sustainability.

Researchers at the University of Tokyo developed pump-field-probe fluorescence microscopy, a new method that reveals short-lived, magnetically sensitive biomolecular intermediates that do not emit light directly. The platform enables nanosecond scale tracking of spin-dependent reaction dynamics and supports future applications in quantum biology and biomedically relevant magnetic-field research.