Scientists have discovered a previously unknown law of geometry that explains why some growing surfaces, whether in nature or engineered materials, suddenly stop being able to stay smooth and instead form dimples and folds. Until now, researchers believed they understood the geometric rules behind these shape changes, but this study reveals a new kind of "geometric frustration" that arises even when all the known rules are satisfied. The finding could reshape how scientists understand the formation of leaves, flowers, tissues and other natural structures, while helping engineers design smarter materials that can deliberately change shape for applications in soft robotics, medicine and advanced manufacturing.

Researchers from the Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo and RIKEN have developed a mathematical framework that explains how resource limitations influence information processing in living systems. The study shows that organisms can switch abruptly between memoryless and memory-based estimation depending on energy availability and sensory uncertainty. The findings provide a theoretical foundation for understanding decision making in biological systems.

New research led by UMC Utrecht shows that school closures during a pandemic outbreak are most effective when they are carefully targeted. The study, published in Nature Communications, demonstrates that the right strategy depends on which age groups are driving transmission at different stages of an outbreak. This study provides guidance for authorities, allowing them to make smart and informed decisions regarding school closures in case of a pandemic outbreak.

A research paper by scientists at City University of Hong Kong presented a 3-level intelligent framework for multijoint upper-limb assistance based on electromyography (EMG) to support the daily living activities of older adults..

The research paper, published on Jul 15, 2026 in the journal Cyborg and Bionic Systems.

Spin waves, or magnons, have attracted attention as information carriers with potential applications in logic circuits, memory devices, and related technologies. Magnonic crystals (MCs) are important platforms for controlling magnon propagation and can be tailored for specific applications. However, general design rules for optimizing targeted properties in MCs remain unclear. In a new study, researchers developed an inverse-design framework to discover optimized MC structures based on target properties and help establish more effective design rules.

A new EPFL-led study has developed a way to measure superconducting quantum bits faster and more accurately, while also reducing the amount of required hardware. The approach addresses one of the key challenges in scaling up quantum computers.