A team of chemists and physicists at Columbia University have discovered that atomic orbitals, not just a material's underlying crystal lattice, can act a new source of electron frustration that researchers can now tap to create quantum behaviors.

 

A piece of GSI/FAIR’s cutting-edge research is scheduled to be launched into space next year: the Biophysics department will be involved in one of the next scientific missions on the International Space Station (ISS) with a highly innovative research project. The “HippoBox” project was successfully reviewed by the German Space Agency at DLR and recently selected for participation in the CELLBOX-4 mission on the ISS. The aim of the project is to use brain organoids (“mini-brains”) to investigate neuroplastic changes in a specific area of the brain, the hippocampus – a question that is highly relevant for the medical preparation of future long-term missions in space.

Large metal surfaces coated with precisely formed nanostructures have so far remained in the realm of fantasy. The obstacle standing in the way of their production seemed fundamental, as it resulted from the presence of crystal grains in metals: their boundaries disrupted the growth of the nanostructures. At the Institute of Nuclear Physics of the PAS, using titanium and its oxide by way of example, it has been proven that this obstacle can be overcome.

A Chinese research team led by Zhong-Shuai Wu at the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics has developed a layer-by-layer 3D printing strategy for constructing thick lithium-ion battery cathodes with anisotropic ion pathways, achieving a record-high areal capacity of 38.4 mAh cm^-2.

Lithium-ion batteries and plastics—two of the most consumed products in modern society—are becoming increasingly problematic when they reach the end of their lives. While batteries pose risks due to toxic components and resource waste, plastics challenge global recycling systems with their sheer volume and chemical durability.

Now, researchers from Soochow University and Harbin Engineering University have jointly developed a novel, dual-waste recycling strategy that addresses both problems simultaneously. In a study recently published in Science China Chemistry, they report a breakthrough in repurposing spent lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery materials and graphite anodes into highly efficient photothermal catalysts capable of upgrading waste polyester plastics such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET).

A joint team from Singapore and Spain has uncovered an intrinsic link between optical vortices and optical skyrmions. By restoring the longitudinal electromagnetic field at a phase singularity, they reveal a perfectly formed Gauss–Stokes skyrmion—a full Poincaré-sphere texture—without any beam superposition. The finding unifies phase, polarization and topology in a single scalar mode and offers an ultracompact route to on-chip topological photonics.

Scientists at La Trobe University have produced a new, powerful electricity-conducting material, in research which could revolutionise smartphones and wearable technologies like medical devices.