Three University of Bonn researchers have been awarded a Proof of Concept Grant by the European Research Council (ERC). Neuroscientist Professor Dominik Bach, chemist Assistant Professor Ala Bunescu and radiologist Professor Philipp Vollmuth (from the University Hospital Bonn) are each receiving €150,000 over a period of 18 months. This program helps researchers to take findings from their work and turn them into commercial products or services.

High-resolution sediment analyses from the Arabian Sea reveal, for the first time, that summer and winter monsoons respond differently to global climate change. Researchers from the University of Bremen contributed to the study, published in the journal Nature Geoscience.

During embryonic development, cells with biochemically distinct ends – called polarised cells – organise into distinct patterns based on their orientation. Using theoretical physics approaches and quantitative experiments, scientists have shown how the shape of tissue boundaries determines these patterns. They found that specific features in these patterns – called topological defects – determine where the proamniotic cavity, an important structure for embryonic development, forms. This research identifies fundamental principles that govern how order and functional structures emerge inside complex biological systems.

Researchers have developed a programmable genome evolution platform called RAMPAGE that rapidly generates beneficial mutations in the industrial yeast Pichia pastoris. The technology enabled the evolution of strains that tolerate extremely high methanol concentrations, grow at elevated temperatures, and overcome growth defects caused by glycoengineering. The platform could accelerate the development of more robust microbial cell factories for sustainable biomanufacturing.

Perovskite quantum dots (PQDs)-based near-infrared light-emitting diodes (NIR-LEDs) still suffer from low external quantum efficiencies (EQEs) and severe efficiency roll-off. To overcome this challenge, an ionic liquid-mediated surface reconstruction strategy that simultaneously stabilizes PQD surface and enhances charge transport has been reported. This strategy enables NIR-LEDs achieve a record EQE of 24.8%, maintaining ~20% EQE at a radiance of 10 W sr^-¹ m^-²—representing the lowest efficiency roll-off for PQD-based NIR-LEDs reported to date.

Kyoto, Japan -- Peering far into the distant, high-redshift universe, the James Webb telescope has discovered an abundance of small red galaxies known as the Little Red Dots. From their observations, astronomers believe that at least some of these galaxies may be home to growing supermassive black holes at their centers, objects which they believe are embedded in dense gaseous envelopes, an environment that is suitable for producing high-energy neutrinos.

Neutrinos are electrically neutral elementary particles with masses near zero. High-energy neutrinos from across the universe have been detected on Earth, but the origin of all-sky high-energy neutrino background radiation has remained a mystery.

Neutrino production involves the collision of high-energy particles such as protons with surrounding photons or matter, and the resulting neutrinos can escape even if they are produced inside thick gas. Sources that produce high-energy neutrinos generally also produce gamma rays, yet if all sources that produced neutrinos also produced gamma rays, the result would exceed observed gamma ray background levels.

Low impurity concentration is a key factor in achieving high‑performance devices in the semiconductor industry. However, the overlooked gas-phase impurities in thermal evaporation can severely degrade the optoelectronic performance of the films and devices. To address this issue, Chinese scientists have proposed a one‑step vapor purification method based on pre‑evaporation of reactive metals. The general effectiveness of this approach is expected to accelerate the development of thermally evaporated optoelectronic devices.