A joint research team from NIMS, Kyoto Institute of Technology (KIT), Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute (JASRI), University of Hyogo, Tohoku University, and the Technical University of Darmstadt, developed a novel materials design approach that achieves a giant cooling effect and excellent durability in magnetic cooling materials whose temperature changes when a magnetic field is switched on and off. The team found that, by precisely controlling the chemistry of covalent bonds within the unit cell can reshape the energy landscape of the phase transition, thereby eliminating hysteresis and its associated irreversible energy losses. Based on this finding, the team achieved a rare combination of giant cooling effect and excellent cyclic stability. This research result paves a new pathway toward energy-efficient magnetic cooling technology and was published in Advanced Materials on December 18, 2025.

MIT engineers identified a common polymer whose thermal conductivity changes quickly and reversibly when the material is stretched. The material could be used to engineer systems that adapt to changing temperatures in real-time, such as switchable fibers woven into apparel.

An international team of researchers from TU Dresden, Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics Halle, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) and partner institutions across Europe has developed a breakthrough method for producing MXenes – an important family of two-dimensional materials – with unprecedented purity and control. The new “gas-liquid-solid” process enables the synthesis of pure MXenes with uniformly distributed halogen atoms on the surface and a precisely tunable surface composition. Their method dramatically boosts their electrical conductivity and opens the door to high-performance electronics, sensors, and energy technologies (DOI: 10.1038/s44160-025-00970-w).

Kyoto, Japan -- Quantum materials and superconductors are difficult enough to understand on their own. Unconventional superconductors, which cannot be explained within the framework of standard theory, take the enigma to an entirely new level.

A typical example of unconventional superconductivity is strontium ruthenate, SRO214, the superconductive properties of which were discovered by a research team that included Yoshiteru Maeno, who is currently at the Toyota Riken - Kyoto University Research Center.

It has long been believed that this material exhibits spin-triplet superconductivity, in which electron pairs retain magnet-like properties and can transport quantum information without electrical resistance. However, results from recent nuclear magnetic resonance -- NMR -- experiments have overturned previous conclusions, prompting the need for independent verification using other techniques.

Micelle-forming polymers such as poloxamer 407 (P407) are promising drug nanocarriers, yet their sol–gel transition under physiological conditions remains poorly understood. In a recent study, researchers from Japan experimentally analyzed how P407 micelles interact in saline environments mimicking bodily fluids. Using advanced X-ray and light scattering techniques, they shed light on key inter-micellar interactions and structures that influence gelling behavior, providing crucial insights for future drug nanocarrier design.

Supercomputer-based simulations reveal the intricacies of sodium-ion clustering and transport in hard carbon nano-pores, report researchers from Science Tokyo. Their results show that a bottleneck effect can lead to the sluggish diffusion of ions in sodium-ion batteries, while also providing useful nanostructural design guidelines to increase the energy density of hard carbon anode. By implementing these insights, the realization of carbon-neutral society can be accelerated.