There are “costs of life” that mechanical physics cannot calculate. A clear example is the energy required to keep specific biochemical processes active — such as those that make up photosynthesis, although the examples are countless — while preventing alternative processes from occurring. In mechanics, no displacement implies zero work, and, put simply, there is no energetic cost for keeping things from happening. Yet careful stochastic thermodynamic calculations show that these costs do exist — and they are often quite significant.

A new paper published in the Journal of Statistical Mechanics: Theory and Experiment (JSTAT) proposes a way to calculate these costs from a thermodynamic perspective and thus to offer a new tool for understanding the selection and evolution of metabolic pathways at the root of life.

Computational fluorescence microscopy (CFM) requires accurate point spread function (PSF) characterization for high-quality imaging. We propose a sample prior–based PSF decoupling method, where regular fluorescent samples act as modulators to computationally optimize the system PSF. This approach avoids modeling errors and low SNR limitations of theoretical or particle-based PSFs. Experiments demonstrate high-contrast, multicolor, and large-depth imaging comparable to confocal microscopy, offering a general strategy for accurate system characterization in advanced CFM.

Scientists have developed a groundbreaking on-chip quantum memory platform using 3D-nanoprinted hollow-core waveguides called "light cages" to store flying photons in cesium vapor. This innovative approach achieves storage times of several hundred nanoseconds while enabling multiple quantum memories on a single chip. The technology marks a major advance in spatially multiplexed quantum memories for use in quantum repeaters and photonic quantum computing platforms.

This study demonstrates that fast raster-scan optoacoustic mesoscopy (fRSOM) enables non-invasive, detailed visualization of microvascular endothelial dysfunction (MiVED) at single-capillary resolution. The method identifies the layer-specific effects of smoking habit and cardiovascular disease on skin MiVED, which were previously unresolvable. fRSOM efficiently detects functional changes, suggesting MiVED as a promising early marker for disease detection and stratification, bridging important gaps in cardiovascular diagnostics.

Academician Yu-Zhong Wang's team at Sichuan University proposed an innovative "LEGO" strategy, successfully upgrading and recycling waste polyethylene (PE) into high-performance materials with multiple functions. This strategy degrades PE into oligomers, which are then modularly assembled with different functional monomers through dynamic imine bonds. This allows for customized functionalization, achieving multiple functions such as flame retardancy, antistatic properties, UV shielding, and dyeability. Simultaneously, the resulting material exhibits good physical and chemical recyclability. The article was published as an open access Research Article in CCS Chemistry, the flagship journal of the Chinese Chemical Society.