A research team led by Prof. Haruki WATANABE, Professor in the Department of Physics and the HKUST Jockey Club Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), in collaboration with Prof. Yukitoshi MOTOME and graduate student Sena WATANABE from the University of Tokyo, has developed a unified theory that predicts when two states of matter are genuinely distinct and when they are secretly the same. The breakthrough provides a general framework for classifying phases across magnetic systems with different spin values and resolves a long-standing debate surrounding the behavior of water ice under extreme pressure. The paper titled "Topological phase transitions and their thermodynamic fate in arbitrary-𝑆 classical pyrochlore spin ice" was published in Physical Review X.

Researchers at the University of Basel have investigated how fine particles in exhaust emissions from aircraft and marine engines change in the atmosphere. Their findings show that aircraft emissions in particular become more toxic over time.

Researchers from the University of Osaka have developed a rhodium-catalyzed reaction that uses a single carbon atom to join two flat molecules into a rigid 3D spirocyclic structure. The reaction cleaves carbon–carbon single bonds and forms four new carbon–carbon bonds around one central carbon. It can join identical or different molecules, and it is expected to aid the design of new functional molecules for applications such as electronic materials.

Scientists at the University of Bath (UK) have produced a new azulene-based fluorescent probe that is five times brighter than the original molecule. Their research has uncovered the tiny molecular changes needed to transform both the colour and brightness of the probes, paving the way for more powerful imaging tools for detecting diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson’s and cancer.

A research team has developed a molecularly imprinted electrochemical sensor combined with a “conversion factor T” strategy to rapidly and selectively quantify the major lutein esters in marigold extracts.