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.

Researchers found that wildfire smoke and rain, through relatively infrequent, can deliver disproportionally large amounts of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium to ecosystems. Analyzing satellite smoke observations and national network rainfall data from 250 sites across 16 climate regions in 2014, 2020 and 2022, the study found a striking increase in smoke-rain days in 2022 compared with 2014, with regional hotspots shifted from year to year. The findings show wildfire emissions can be an important source of material deposited into ecosystems, but not necessarily in a way that benefits growth or productivity.

Jeffery Kelly, the H. Lutcher Brown Professor of Chemistry at Scripps Research, has been elected as a member of the European Academy of Engineering for his contributions to understanding how proteins fold, misfold and aggregate. Kelly’s findings laid the groundwork for therapeutics for diseases linked to proteins that fold incorrectly or clump together. Membership recognizes professionals who have made exceptional contributions to engineering and technology.

Published in Journal of Bioresources and Bioproducts, the study abandons the long-standing "component-independent assumption" used in conventional kinetic models. Instead, it introduces a component-coupled framework based on representative volume element analysis (RVEA) and a controlled-release densification pretreatment using sulfuric acid and hydrogen peroxide. By transforming lignin-derived inhibitors into quantifiable kinetic indicators, the model captures how lignin removal dynamically exposes hemicellulose, driving the transition from slow to fast hydrolysis phases. Semi-analytical solutions deliver high computational efficiency, while explicit relationships between process parameters and kinetic behavior enable rational design of lignocellulosic biorefinery processes.

In Biointerphases, researchers seek to explore whether setulae — the nanoscopic hairs geckos have covering their body — may have a role in preventing water from escaping and keeping the lizards from drying out. The team created a simplified computational model of the gecko’s skin, complete with a row of setulae, and using fluid dynamics models, they simulated the flow of air across the skin. They found that the setulae, thanks to their precise arrangement, trap air between one another, sheltering the skin and retaining water.

SAN ANTONIO — August 25, 2026 — Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has received a $1 million, two-year grant from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation to develop a sustainable domestic supply of graphite by converting captured carbon dioxide.

Queen Mary University of London researchers develop a quantum computational spectroscopy approach that could open new ways of studying complex quantum systems 

Pure water only freezes at around minus 38 degrees Celsius. Tiny mineral dust particles act as so‑called ice nucleators—crystallization seeds on which ice crystals form. A research team at Bielefeld University and the University of Vienna in cooperation with researchers from Helsinki University has now demonstrated for the first time, at the molecular scale, why the mineral microcline is particularly effective at forming ice in clouds. Published in a renowned scientific journal, the study provides a new explanation for processes that influence climate and precipitation worldwide.