Researchers with the CHIME/FRB Collaboration found that diffuse “puffs” of ordinary matter fill the vast spaces between galaxies. The findings help explain why physicists’ estimates of the amount of visible matter in the universe are much larger than what we know exists within stars and galaxies.

According to the research published in the journal Utilities Policy, for the Basque Country to achieve energy self-sufficiency by 2050, in a just, public and independent manner, it would have to reduce energy consumption by 51% and increase regional generation of renewable energy by 386%. The research, carried out by Ortzi Akizu and Erlantz Lizundia of the LCTG group at the EHU, Martin Lallana at LAB and Unai Pascual at BC3, aims to promote debate on the current energy model.

Biodegradable food packaging materials offer a sustainable alternative to conventional plastics, but their applications are often limited by lower oxygen barrier performance and mechanical strength. Now, Professor Andi Dirpan from Hasanuddin University, along with researchers from India and Malaysia, have developed multilayered polylactic acid films reinforced with microcrystalline cellulose and oxygen scavenger butylated hydroxytoluene. The resulting bioplastic improved oxygen-scavenging functionality with strength, offering the promise of a safe and sustainable solution for food packaging.

A new review study explores natural products containing atypical atoms, including boron, fluorine, arsenic, selenium, iodine, vanadium, and molybdenum. These metabolites reveal how nature’s biosynthetic repertoire extends beyond conventional biological elements, enabling unusual biosynthetic pathways, redox activity, detoxification, signaling, defense, and catalysis. The review highlights their ecological roles and future potential for drug discovery, genome mining, and sustainable biocatalysis.