Penn State researchers have created an approach to 3D printing bioelectrodes that can stretch and morph to fit the minor differences that make every brain unique using software to simulate detailed brains. They report that their electrodes better fit the brain's structure while remaining effective and biologically compatible.

Quantum coherence is a fundamental mechanism driving ultrafast molecular reaction dynamics, playing a decisive role in processes such as light-induced ultrafast vision molecular isomerization and dissociation. However, due to the complexity of highly excited states in polyatomic molecules and interference from decoherence processes, directly observing vibrational quantum coherence signals from excited states has long been a major experimental challenge. This study, using time-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy, clearly resolves quantum beat signals resulting from interference between different vibrational states during the ultrafast predissociation dynamics of excited SF6 molecules. By combining high-precision calculations of the excited state potential energy surface and quantum dynamics simulations, the vibrational levels involved in the quantum coherence process are identified, and the lifetimes of the predissociating vibrational states are quantitatively analyzed. This work opens new avenues for understanding the role of quantum coherence in complex photo-induced ultrafast chemical reactions and ultimately for achieving active control over them.

Modern technology demands compact, efficient optical devices for cameras, sensors, and quantum systems. Metasurfaces offer nanoscale control of light, yet strong confinement remains difficult. While traditional cavities rely on mirrors, bound states in the continuum (BICs) trap light through destructive interference. A recent review in Opto-Electronic Advances highlights BIC materials across wavelengths, machine-learning-driven designs, emerging topological forms like super-BICs, and scalable applications in lasing, sensing, and nonlinear optics.

Breaking away from conventional robots that perform only predefined functions once fabricated, researchers have developed a next-generation artificial muscle that can change its shape in real time, recover from damage, and even be reused.

 

Seoul National University College of Engineering announced that a joint research team led by Prof. Jeong-Yun Sun (Department of Materials Science and Engineering) and Prof. Ho-Young Kim (Department of Mechanical Engineering), with Yun Hyeok Lee, Seungwon Moon, and Min-gyu Lee as first and co-first authors, has developed a new type of dielectric elastomer actuator (DEA) using a phase-transitional ferrofluid (PTF) that behaves as a solid at room temperature but becomes fluid-like and highly flexible when exposed to external stimuli such as heat or magnetic fields.

 

The study was published on March 21 in Science Advances, a leading international journal published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Acoustic metamaterials can shape sound well, but most rely on rigid structures that are hard to reconcile with transparency, broadband performance and flexibility. Researchers have now developed a hydrogel metapad that brings these properties together in one platform, improving ultrasound imaging of blood vessels and the heart while suggesting new opportunities for underwater acoustics.

In an effort to develop catalysts from abundant and inexpensive elements, researchers from Kyushu University have found that mixing methanol, iron ions, and sodium hydroxide and then irradiating it with UV light generates hydrogen gas at rates comparable to those of catalysts used in today’s markets. The team hopes their findings will lead to more sustainable hydrogen energy production.

This systematic review addresses key research gaps in Nymphaea spp. cosmetic applications, establishing a unified translational framework to guide relevant academic research and industrial development.

Frank Würthner, a professor of chemistry at the University of Würzburg, receives the Izatt-Christensen Award, the highest international honour in the field of supramolecular chemistry.

Vaping is largely believed to be a safer alternative to cigarettes, but new research shows that vaping devices can deliver toxic metals directly into lung tissue.