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Chemistry & Physics

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 28-Oct-2026 04:16 ET (28-Oct-2026 08:16 GMT/UTC)

Biochar and beneficial fungi work together to restore soils damaged by coal mining

Biochar Editorial Office, Shenyang Agricultural University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A three-year field study shows that pairing biochar with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi can improve soil health, nutrient supply, microbial diversity, and maize productivity in reclaimed mining land

Journal: Biochar

Straw and biochar work together to reshape the molecular “architecture” of soil organic matter

Biochar Editorial Office, Shenyang Agricultural University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Soil organic matter is often described as the foundation of soil fertility. It helps soils hold nutrients, retain water, support microbial life, and store carbon. Yet scientists are still working to understand how different farm-based carbon inputs, such as crop straw and biochar, change the molecular structure of soil organic matter over time.

Journal: Biochar

Easily overlooked small wetlands are a big source of global methane

University of Texas at Austin
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Wetlands are the world's largest natural source of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. In a new study from The University of Texas at Austin, researchers have newly identified 160 million small wetlands across the globe and found that they have a substantial collective impact, accounting for 24% of the world’s total non-forested wetland emissions of methane.

Journal: Nature Climate Change
Funder: Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Stanford University, University of Texas at Austin, University of Houston, NASA Surface Water and Ocean Topography, Taylor Geospatial Institute, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Department of Agriculture, National University of Singapore, European Space Agency, European Commission Horizon Europe

Global mangrove forests rebound, offering hopeful sign for climate and coastal resilience

Tulane University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers at Tulane University have found that the world’s mangrove forests are no longer in decline and have shifted to overall growth in recent years. Using four decades of satellite data, a new study shows that natural regeneration, expansion into newly formed coastal habitats and conservation efforts have largely offset decades of mangrove loss, offering a rare conservation success story and a hopeful sign for climate resilience.

Journal: Science

JWST measures mass of a dormant black hole from the early universe for the first time

Carnegie Institution for Science
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Carnegie’s Andrew Newman led a team of astronomers that used JWST to make the first direct mass measurement of a dormant black hole at the center of a galaxy from the early universe. Previously, this technique had only been used to study black holes in the local universe. But JWST and a phenomenon called gravitational lensing enabled the researchers to use it on a galaxy that's light is reaching us from when the universe was just 3 billion years old.

Journal: Science

Boston University joins National Science Foundation institute pushing frontiers of physics and AI

Boston University
Grant and Award Announcement

Boston University is joining the NSF AI Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Fundamental Interactions (IAIFI), which aims to use AI to inform physics breakthroughs—and vice versa.

UC San Diego team pairs AI with tiny optical device to correct distorted light for sharper imaging

University of California - San Diego
Peer-Reviewed Publication

UC San Diego engineers have created a tiny optical device that pairs with AI to spot and correct distorted light from a single image, a breakthrough that could sharpen imaging in fields from biology to manufacturing.

Journal: Nature Communications
Funder: Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Air Force Office of Scientific Research, Silicon Valley Community Foundation, Silicon Valley Community Foundation

Are you sleep deprived? Your spit may hold the answer

American Chemical Society
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Sleep loss dulls alertness and coordination, and it can produce effects similar to severe intoxication, making actions like driving incredibly risky. But there’s no clinical test for determining when someone is dangerously sleep deprived. Now, researchers report a step toward a non-invasive test for sleep deprivation in ACS’ Journal of Proteome Research. In a study of 20 men, they identified molecular differences in saliva after a full night’s rest and 24 hours without sleep.

Journal: Journal of Proteome Research

New sensory evaluation method reveals how polyphenol structures shape taste perception

Shibaura Institute of Technology
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A pilot study has developed a new sensory evaluation method that links the chemical structures of polyphenols with their distinct taste properties. Using trained human panelists, researchers showed that different polyphenols produce unique sensory effects, including bitterness, acidity, and astringency. The findings may help improve functional food design and food processing technologies while advancing understanding of how taste-related sensory pathways contribute to digestion, metabolism, and health-related responses.

Journal: Foods
Funder: JSPS KAKENHI