This research shows a new way to control light at extremely high speeds using ultra-thin silicon metasurfaces. By carefully designing how light passes through them, the team achieved strong and fast control over a wider range of colours than previously possible. This breakthrough helps overcome a key limitation in current technology and could support faster internet, improved data processing, and future light-based computing systems.

The occurrence of fires in the Arctic is linked not only to warming temperatures and increasingly dry conditions, but also human activity in the region. An international research team led by the University of Zurich found that fires occurred 2.5 times more often in lit areas associated with human activity than in climatically similar unlit areas. Effective fire prevention and response can help reduce risks whose impacts extend far beyond the Arctic.

A new study provides experimental evidence that wild capuchin monkeys use more than just physical cues when selecting stone tools; they also rely on visible signs that a stone has previously been used for this purpose. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology and the University of São Paulo investigated how nut-cracking capuchin monkeys choose between stones of different hardness and appearance, examining whether evidence of prior use, as indicated by percussive damage, can override the influence of a stone's intrinsic material properties.

Physicists at the University of Würzburg and the Würzburg-Dresden Cluster of Excellence ctd.qmat have realized the world’s first continuously operating maser based on the semiconductor silicon carbide. This new technology could pave the way for compact microwave sources, low-noise amplifiers, and highly sensitive magnetic field sensors – and may even find future applications in space technology.

An international team of researchers has succeeded in producing atomic quantum gas mixtures with an unprecedented particle flux. In the journal Nature Communications, the scientists report on experiments conducted with the MAIUS-B apparatus, in which Bose-Einstein condensates consisting of two different atomic species – rubidium and potassium – were generated and studied under microgravity conditions in the Einstein Elevator at Leibniz University Hannover, Germany. A key contribution to this achievement came from a technological development at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz: the highly sophisticated and compact optical system used to control the atoms.

Electrochemical chloride ion removal is essential for clean water and environmental protection, yet its practical application is hindered by the sluggish kinetics, especially using high-mass-loading electrodes. Conventional extrinsic modifications, such as conductive additives or structural design, exhibit constrained effectiveness. Here, we report an intrinsic enhancement strategy through heteroatom doping-induced dual defects engineering, demonstrated by the successful synthesis of fluorine-doped copper(I) phosphide with phosphorus vacancies (F-Cu₃P_V) via molten salt treatment. Based on density functional theory calculations and experimental results, F doping caused lattice distortion, generating P vacancies to form dual defects. These defects effectively modulated intrinsic electron redistribution, resulting in improved electrical conductivity, enhanced adsorption capability, and reduced chloride ion diffusion energy barriers. Therefore, electron transfer and ion diffusion kinetics were significantly accelerated, leading to superior electrochemical performance. Resultantly, the F-Cu₃P_V electrode performed exceptional electrochemical chloride ion removal performance with superior areal deionization capacity (3.16 ± 0.02 mg cm⁻²) and a remarkably rapid areal deionization rate (0.106 ± 0.001 mg cm⁻² min⁻¹), as well as outstanding cycling stability (95.65% retention after 70 cycles). This work elucidates electron redistribution via heteroatom doping-induced dual defects as a viable pathway to overcome the intrinsic kinetic bottleneck for high-performance electrochemical chloride ion removal.

Salidroside, the key active compound of Rhodiola plants with anti-hypoxia and anti-fatigue properties, is highly valued in medicine, health products, and cosmetics. A new study demonstrates an efficient dual-enzyme cascade system combining sucrose synthase and glycosyltransferase that achieves one-pot biosynthesis of salidroside with 90% conversion rate. Through solubility enhancement and thermostability engineering, the system produces 13.61 g/L salidroside within just 10 hours, establishing a practical platform for industrial-scale green production.

In a significant advance for carbon-negative biotechnology, researchers have engineered the chemolithoautotrophic bacterium Cupriavidus necator H16 to convert carbon dioxide (CO₂) directly into p-coumaric acid (p-CA), a high-value phenolic compound. Published in Systems Microbiology and Biomanufacturing, this study marks the first demonstration of light-independent, de novo synthesis of p-CA from CO₂, presenting a sustainable alternative to traditional plant extraction and petrochemical synthesis methods.