For the design of future materials, it is important to understand how the individual atoms inside a material interact with each other quantum mechanically. Previously inexplicable vibrational states between carbon chains (carbyne) and nanotubes have puzzled materials scientists. Researchers from Austria, Italy, France, China and Japan lead by the University of Vienna have now succeeded in getting to the bottom of this phenomenon with the help of Raman spectroscopy, innovative theoretical models and the use of machine learning. The results published in "Nature Communications" show the universal applicability of carbyne as a sensor due to its sensitivity to external influences.

Researchers from Aarhus University have developed MARTINIS – a portable, low-cost, automatic lab that monitors soil chemistry in real time using planar optodes. The system can track oxygen and pH levels in situ without disturbing the soil. It enables detailed analysis of soil dynamics, supports climate research, and may inform sustainable farming practices. The open-source technology has been field-tested and is now being further developed for broader application.

Researchers from the University of Malaga, led by Casado Cordón, and from the Complutense University, under the coordination of Professor Nazario Martín, have taken a step further and created an unprecedented molecular model of bilayer graphene that is capable of controlling rotation, which in turn allows controlling conductivity and achieving “potentially spectacular semiconducting properties”.

To the point

Directing chemistry as an emergent property via bifurcation

Coupling and momentum conservation considered in new model for enzyme activity

Novel mechanism bypassing energy barrier in enzymatic reaction

Three golden rules can be inferred to design optimized enzymes for chemical reactions

To test the effect of sound absorption on children’s noise, Ikuri Matsuoka installed polyester fiberboard onto one classroom’s ceiling and compared it to another without any. The team then analyzed the indoor activities using video and audio to determine noise levels and the number of times the children cried. After six months, Matsuoka found that children were louder in the room without the insulation. Matsuoka will present their at the 188th ASA Meeting.

Much of the world’s lithium occurs in salty waters with fundamentally different chemistry than other naturally saline waters like the ocean, according to study published in Science Advances by researchers from the Duke University Nicholas School of the Environment. The finding has implications for lithium mining technologies and wastewater assessment and management.