Five years ago, 1,000 volunteers across Switzerland buried more than 2,000 pairs of cotton underwear. The unconventional citizen science project, led by the University of Zurich and Agroscope, aimed to gain a better understanding of the activity of soil organisms. The newly published findings show that land use is the most important factor in determining decomposition rates and soil life.

Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology developed DCA2MC, a divide-and-conquer approach for model checking linear temporal properties. The method splits large verification problems into smaller, independently checkable tasks to address state-space explosion and improve performance through parallelization. A supporting tool is implemented in Maude and provides an environment integrating with external model checkers such as Spin, while a semi-automated method helps select effective layer configurations. Case studies demonstrated improved verification of larger state spaces.

A research team at The University of Tokyo has succeeded in an atomic-scale double-slit experiment that treats neighboring atoms as “two slits,” and demonstrated that it is possible to read out the vibration of atoms from the fringe pattern formed by electrons. Applying this method to research and development of semiconductor materials may make it possible to investigate, at the atomic level, regions where heat accumulates or flows inefficiently.

Researchers used combinatorial solid-phase peptide synthesis and infrared thermography to screen 300 tripeptide sequences for interactions with CO₂. Two tripeptides, His(Boc)-Phe-Asn and Phe-Ala-Glu(OtBu), showed reproducible thermal responses after CO₂ exposure. The signals were reproduced on glass, functionalised cellulose, and Rink-amide resin, indicating that thermographic screening can help identify peptide candidates for further development as bioinspired CO₂-binding materials.

Researchers fabricated ultralight anisotropic SiC aerogel using corn‑stalk biomass as raw material. The study, published in Defence Technology, reveals that the material exhibits orientation‑dependent electromagnetic‑wave absorption and outstanding high-temperature insulation performance, clarifying structure‑function coupling effects of biomass‑derived anisotropic ceramic aerogels and offering a green fabrication route for adaptive multifunctional protective materials.

CHANGWON, South Korea — A research team led by Principal Researcher Jung-Dae Kwon, Yonghun Kim, and Jongwon Yoon of the Energy & Environment Materials Research Division at the Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS), headed by President Chul-jin Choi, has developed a flexible near-infrared (NIR) photodetector that delivers more than five times higher photoresponsivity while maintaining its performance under repeated bending. The technology is expected to serve as a core platform for next-generation flexible optoelectronic devices, including wearable healthcare devices, medical diagnostic sensors, and optical communication receivers.

Professor Sungjune Jung's team at POSTECH reproduces alveolar movement in an artificial lung model that can operates stably over 240,000 breaths.

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A process called nucleation often initiates phase transitions such as condensation or freezing.

A UCLA-led study uses advanced 3D atomic imaging to revise a widely accepted, century-old theory describing how nucleation happens.

The findings deepen our understanding of a fundamental process in nature and could have implications for far-flung areas of science and industry, including the development of next-generation alloys.