A recent study published in National Science Review has revealed a previously unknown separated two-phase structure in lithium-manganese-rich cathodes, a breakthrough that could revolutionize the design of high-performance batteries. The discovery allows researchers to precisely manipulate the internal structure of cathodes, offering new opportunities for developing batteries with significantly higher energy density.

Researchers at the Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, in collaboration with the University of Konstanz and ETH Zurich, have managed to get vibrations to travel around this membrane, almost without any loss. In fact, so little loss that it is far better than even electronic circuit signal handling. The result is now published in the journal Nature.

Just over 200 years after French engineer and physicist Sadi Carnot formulated the second law of thermodynamics, an international team of researchers has unveiled an analogous law for the quantum world. This second law of entanglement manipulation proves that, just like heat or energy in an idealised thermodynamics regime, entanglement can be reversibly manipulated, a statement which until now had been heavily contested. The new research – released on July 2, 2025 in Physical Review Letters – deepens understanding of entanglement’s basic properties and provides critical fundamental insight into how to efficiently manipulate entanglement and other quantum phenomena in practice.

Can animals share the same space peacefully high above the ground in the treetops? A research team at the University of Göttingen has found that forests combining both deciduous and conifer trees make it easier for red squirrels and dormice to coexist. Using cameras placed high in the canopy, scientists discovered that red squirrels tend to prefer coniferous forests, while dormice are more commonly found in beech forests. However, in mixed forests that include both tree types, both species were observed living side by side. This suggests that mixed forests could play an important role in supporting biodiversity. The findings were published in the European Journal of Wildlife Research.

Chemists at the School of Science of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) have recently made a significant breakthrough in photocatalysis by unveiling a “super” photoreductant, marking a major advancement in organic synthesis.