Researchers at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland, have developed a new strategy for programming synthetic molecules to self-assemble into precisely defined three-dimensional structures. The study brings scientists a step closer to achieving the sophisticated molecular organization found in nature and could eventually open new possibilities for the development of advanced functional materials.

Nutth Tuchinda, an NJIT assistant professor of chemical and materials engineering, is among 67 scientists selected nationwide for the U.S. Department of Energy's 2026 Early Career Research Program. 

Depending on the cultivar, higher concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in the atmosphere can significantly alter the protein composition of wheat. This affects not only baking quality but potentially also the tolerability of wheat products. This is the conclusion of a new study led by the Leibniz Institute for Food Systems Biology at the Technical University of Munich. According to the study, the adaptation of crops to climate change should in the future focus not only on high yields but also on quality characteristics such as protein composition.

Researchers used the European XFEL to create X-ray flashes that were not only extremely short, but also reached record intensity for this type of pulses. The researchers focused the X-rays to an area roughly 100 000 times smaller than the cross-section of a typical human hair. This concentrated the X-ray light into a tiny but extremely powerful spot. The method could enable detailed studies of how electrons behave in atoms and molecules and in the long term could even allow to control electrons during chemical reactions. The team now published the results of the experiment, carried out in April 2026, in the journal Optica.

For the first time, scientists have achieved strong coupling between light and long-lived acoustic vibrations in an optical fiber. Optical fibers are used in both classical telecommunications and quantum communication and could serve not only as connections between computing nodes but also as quantum processors themselves in the future. The results, published in Nature Physics, pave the way for new technologies in quantum signal processing.

Lensless holographic microscopy replaces imaging optics with computation, but its classical Gabor principle has long been confined to thin, weakly scattering specimens. Researchers at Warsaw University of Technology have now pushed the method into the multiple-scattering regime. Near-infrared illumination preserved resolvable information through tissue-like scattering layers up to 1.4 mm, while increasing the sample-sensor distance unexpectedly doubled lateral resolution—revealing a new acquisition strategy for high-throughput, robust, amplitude-and-phase imaging in complex media.

Skeletal muscles grow and regenerate as individual precursor cells – called myoblasts – fuse into long fibers from which mature muscle fibers develop. How they coordinate this process and form functional muscles is not yet fully understood. A research team at the Max-Planck-Zentrum für Physik und Medizin (MPZPM) has now shown that mechanical stress influences the fusion of muscle cells. The results, published in Nature Communications, reveal an interaction between the organization of muscle cells, the surrounding intercellular space, mechanical stress, and muscle growth.

Scientists have developed a new type of glowing liquid that could help create harder-to-copy security markings for products, documents and other valuable items.