Efficient mixing of dense solid–liquid suspensions is essential across many industries, yet conventional mixing design rules often fail at high particle concentrations. A recent study at Nagoya Institute of Technology challenges traditional mixing methods and shows that placing the impeller near the solid–liquid interface lowers the minimum speed required to keep particles suspended in dense suspensions. These findings offer new strategies for improving energy efficiency and mixing outcomes for high-density suspensions.

Atoms and molecules are the fundamental building blocks of matter. Spectroscopy identifies and quantifies chemical species through the unique spectral fingerprints they imprint on light. Spectroscopy has many applications, ranging from fundamental tests of quantum electrodynamics and investigations of molecular structure to environmental sensing, biomedical diagnostics and industrial monitoring. A highly promising spectroscopic instrument that has the potential to transform the field has emerged over the years: the dual-comb spectrometer. This relies on the interference of two mode-locked ultrafast lasers that produce broad frequency combs composed of evenly spaced narrow spectral lines. In a tutorial article published in Nature Reviews Methods Primers, Nathalie Picqué and Theodor W. Hänsch review the principles, advances and future opportunities of the rapidly developing field of broadband atomic and molecular science using dual-comb spectroscopy.

Researchers have developed a Pt–CuO_x interfacial catalyst that enables near-quantitative conversion of biomass-derived HMF into FDCA at low voltage (0.75 V), significantly reducing energy consumption while achieving 99.1% selectivity and long-term stability.

Researchers at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) have developed a new procedure, enabling them to speed up elaborate computer simulations that analyze matter under extreme conditions. In particular, this work improves the evaluation of experiments at large-scale research facilities like the European XFEL – and should facilitate substantial progress, among others, in fusion research and laboratory astrophysics. The team is presenting its results in the journal npj Computational Materials (DOI: 10.1038/s41524-026-02088-9).

Lakes play a vital filtering role in the ecosystem: they remove excess nitrogen from the water. An international research team led by the University of Basel and Eawag has now shown that climate change could weaken this natural purification process. This would have consequences extending all the way to coastal marine ecosystems.

Researchers at the University of New South Wales and Monash University in Australia have developed a new method for covert communications. By taking advantage of the phenomena of “negative luminescence”, the opposite of the electroluminescence of conventional visible light emitting diodes (LEDs), they demonstrate that a data signal can be perfectly hidden in the thermal background, with only an outside observer with the same technology able to observe that a message was sent at all.

Biochar is often described as a stable form of carbon that can improve soils, store carbon, and help immobilize pollutants. But once biochar is applied to farmland, contaminated sites, or other soils, it does not remain unchanged. A new review published in Biochar examines how biochar weathers over time and what those changes mean for soil health, carbon sequestration, and soil remediation.