During his PhD at UMass, Nikhil Malvankar was laser-focused on quantum mechanics and the movement of electrons in superconductors. Now a professor at Yale, the native of Mumbai, India, has pivoted towards biology to explain how bacteria breathe deep underground without the aid of oxygen. 

To date, his lab at the Yale Microbial Sciences Institute has uncovered the evolutionary trick used by bacteria to breathe through tiny protein filaments, called nanowires, to dispose of excess electrons from the conversion of organic waste to electricity. The adaptation has enabled bacteria to send electrons over distances 100-times their size through what the scholars refer to as bacterial “snorkeling.”

Phase change emulsions (NPCEs) have significant potential for energy storage and temperature regulation due to their high energy density and efficient heat transfer. However, in most conventional NPCEs, performance under low-temperature and shear conditions is often compromised, leading to droplet coalescence and instability. A team of scientists has developed a high-energy ultrasonic regeneration strategy that enables real-time restoration of NPCE performance without interrupting the operation cycle. Their work was published in the journal Industrial Chemistry & Materials on July 28.

New research reveals that people who eat the most ultra-processed foods show significantly elevated levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) – a key marker of inflammation and a strong predictor of cardiovascular disease. The risk is particularly pronounced among adults aged 50 to 59, smokers, and individuals with unhealthy body weights. Surprisingly, physical activity didn’t appear to offset this effect: researchers found no significant difference in hs-CRP levels between sedentary individuals and those meeting exercise guidelines.

The ion of the hydrogen molecule is ideally suited for making ultra-precise measurements of important physical constants. Physicists at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU) headed by Professor Stephan Schiller Ph.D. have now used the “Doppler-free laser spectroscopy” method for the first time on the H₂⁺ ion, achieving a huge improvement in accuracy compared with previous measurements. From this, it is also possible to determine the proton-to-electron mass ratio more accurately than ever before, as the researchers report in the journal Nature. The method paves the way for examining aspects of “new physics”.

Today, the Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists announced the Finalists for the 2025 Blavatnik National Awards. Three will be named Laureates and receive a $250,000 prize at a Gala Ceremony in New York City on October 7, 2025. These Finalists include:

LIFE SCIENCES

Daniele Canzio, PhD, University of California, San Francisco (Neuroscience)

Kaiyu Guan, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (Agriculture & Animal Sciences)

Philip J. Kranzusch, PhD, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute; Harvard Medical School (Microbiology)

Elizabeth Nance, PhD, University of Washington (Biomedical Engineering & Biotechnology)

Tomasz Nowakowski, PhD, University of California, San Francisco (Neuroscience)

Samuel H. Sternberg, PhD, Columbia University/Howard Hughes Medical Institute (Molecular & Cellular Biology)

 

CHEMICAL SCIENCES

Song Lin, PhD, Cornell University (Organic Chemistry)

Joseph Cotruvo, Jr., PhD, The Pennsylvania State University (Biochemistry & Structural Biology)

Frank Leibfarth, PhD, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Polymer Chemistry)

Ryan Lively, PhD, Georgia Institute of Technology (Chemical Engineering)

Leslie M. Schoop, PhD, Princeton University (Inorganic & Solid-State Chemistry)

Yogesh Surendranath, PhD, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Inorganic & Solid-State Chemistry)

 

PHYSICAL SCIENCES & ENGINEERING

Charlie Conroy, PhD, Harvard University (Astrophysics & Cosmology)

Nathaniel Craig, PhD, University of California, Santa Barbara (Theoretical Physics)

Matthew McDowell, PhD, Georgia Institute of Technology (Materials Science & Nanotechnology)

Prateek Mittal, PhD, Princeton University (Computer Science)

Elaina J. Sutley, PhD, University of Kansas (Civil Engineering)

Zhongwen Zhan, PhD, California Institute of Technology (Physical Earth Sciences)

A self-powered analytical device that detects toxic amines in water using electrochemiluminescence has been developed by researchers from Japan, enabling pollutant detection without an external power source. The device operates using voltage generated by liquid flow and produces light signals to indicate contamination. This breakthrough makes water quality testing more accessible, enabling real-time, portable monitoring in situations where traditional methods are impractical.