A five-dimensional (5D) Langevin approach developed by an international team of researchers, including members from Science Tokyo, accurately reproduces complex fission fragment distributions and kinetic energies in medium-mass mercury isotopes (¹⁸⁰Hg and ¹⁹⁰Hg). The model successfully captures the unusual “double-humped” fragment mass distribution observed in mercury-180 and offers new insights into how nuclear shell effects influence fission dynamics—even at higher excitation energies than previously thought—advancing our understanding of fission in the sub-lead region.

Hydrogen interactions play a crucial role in organic chemistry. The position of hydrogen in many molecules can completely change what happens to the other atoms in the rings. The international research team, led by Dr. Dariusz Piekarski from the Institute of Physical Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, and Dr. Jaroslav Kočišek from the Czech Academy of Sciences, explored the role of hydrogen in the molecules under the hit with low-energy electrons, revealing mechanisms behind it. Their study helps us to understand how small changes in molecule structure affect the dynamics of the molecular target, i.e., particular breaking of it, which is important for both environmental cleanup and designing new materials. Let’s take a closer look at their studies.

Scientists at the University of Nottingham have discovered surface patterns that can drastically reduce bacteria’s ability to multiply on plastics, which means that infections on medical devices, such as catheters, could be prevented.

New research reveals the importance of winter sea ice in the year-to-year variability of the amount of atmospheric CO₂ absorbed by a region of the Southern Ocean.

In years when sea ice lasts longer in winter, the ocean will overall absorb 20% more CO₂ from the atmosphere than in years when sea ice forms late or disappears early. This is because sea ice protects the ocean from strong winter winds that drive mixing between the surface of the ocean and its deeper, carbon-rich layers.

The findings, based on data collected in a coastal system along the west Antarctic Peninsula, show that what happens in winter is crucial in explaining this variability in CO₂ uptake.

Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) are collaborating on a new project to bolster global capabilities in food safety risk assessment, in support of the WHO Global Strategy for Food Safety 2022–2030.

An international research team lead by GSI/FAIR, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) and Helmholtz Institute Mainz (HIM) has succeeded in the production of a new seaborgium isotope. In the experiment conducted at the GSI/FAIR accelerator facilities, 22 nuclei of seaborgium-257 could be detected. The results were published in the journal Physical Review Letters and highlighted as an “Editor’s Suggestion.”