Some of the world’s best-selling diabetes drugs depend on a chemical bond that has long been notoriously difficult, slow and expensive to manufacture. Now, scientists at Scripps Research and the University of Bristol have developed a new, simple method to build that same chemical bond, starting with common table sugar and vinegar.

Plastic mulch films are widely used in agriculture to conserve water, regulate soil temperature, and improve crop production. Yet after repeated exposure to sunlight, weathering, and mechanical stress, these films can fragment into polyethylene microplastics, which persist in soils and surrounding waters for decades or even centuries.

Researchers from Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU) have – in collaboration with colleagues from Ludwig Maximilian University (LMU) in Munich – analysed the complex biochemical processes by means of which bacteria insert proteins into their cell membranes. In the scientific journal of the European Molecular Biology Organization (The EMBO Journal), they explain that – contrary to prior assumptions – there are more similarities between the processes in bacteria and higher cells than previously thought.

Wave energy has long been seen as a promising source of clean electricity. The ocean is always moving, and that motion carries a huge amount of energy. But many wave energy devices have one important limitation: they do not naturally move in sync with ocean waves. When that happens, they capture less power.

Researchers from ESPOL, Stevens Institute of Technology, and partner institutions tested a simple passive way to tune a wave energy device so it can respond better to changing sea conditions. Their idea uses submerged cones attached to the sides of a floating platform. As the platform moves, the cones trap water and change the system’s motion, helping it adjust more naturally to long ocean swells.

What if artificial cells could be mechanically programmed like machines? Researchers at the University of Tokyo have shown that lipids and DNA nanostructures independently control two fundamental modes of deformation, stretching and bending, opening new possibilities for designing artificial cells and next-generation soft materials.

Surprisingly, a certain microscopic structure found in natural graphite can host multiple superconducting states, researchers found. In a further surprise, these superconducting states even get stronger when exposed to a magnetic field. 

Researchers at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) have developed a new way to employ molecules as tiny data storage devices using a new manganese-based material. Until now, this was only possible with iron-containing molecular materials, which require very low temperatures – ranging from 100 to a maximum of 130 Kelvin (approximately minus 173 to minus 143 degrees Celsius) – making their application significantly more difficult. “With our novel manganese-based material, we succeeded in raising the operating temperature for the potential storage devices to around minus 132 degrees Celsius on our very first attempt,” said Prof. Dr. Katja Heinze from the Department of Chemistry at JGU.

When viruses travel through the air in tiny droplets, they can quickly start to dry out. Yet many viruses remain infectious after rehydration — something that is still not fully understood. Now, an international team led by researchers at the Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter (MPSD) in Hamburg has directly observed how the protein shells of viruses can change shape during dehydration, offering new clues to viral resilience and opening new possibilities for virology research. The results, published in Light: Science & Applications, lay the groundwork for potential applications in virology and public health, and can for instance help develop antiviral strategies.

SAN ANTONIO — June 29, 2026 —A new Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) study based on data from NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft has uncovered fascinating insights into why the solar wind gradually slows as it moves toward the edge of the solar system and the boundary with interstellar space.