New material works like a cell’s dynamic internal skeleton, assembling and disassembling as it stores and releases energy. It can harvest energy from sunlight or other sources and store it in the dark. Material could open the door for clean, renewable energy that doesn’t require plastics or metals. First report of a material that stores energy by physically rebuilding itself.

The collapse of a star at the end of its life cycle could lead not only to a black hole but also to an ultra-compact star – a so-called gravastar – which resembles a black hole from the outside. This is the conclusion reached by two theoretical physicists at Goethe University. They have discovered a solution to the equations of Einstein’s General Relativity according to which the gravitational collapse of a star does not necessarily have to end in a black hole. According to their calculations, a new mini universe could form inside the collapsing star. The Big Bang would reverse the enormous gravitational forces and give rise to a gravastar filled with dark energy.

Nickel oxides accelerate hydrogen-based steel production by a factor of two

BUFFALO, NY — June 11, 2026 — A new meeting report was published in Volume 18 of Aging on May 14, 2026, titled “Foundations of Gerophysics.”

Raman optical activity, long thought to require chiral molecules or magnetic order, has been demonstrated in an achiral, nonmagnetic crystal by researchers at Institute of Science Tokyo. The effect arises through ferroaxial order, a coordinated rotation of atoms within the lattice, and is detected using circularly polarized Raman spectroscopy. These findings show that optically inactive materials can also display chirality-like optical responses and expand the scope of optical techniques for discovering new materials.  

Light is expected to heat particles up or set them in motion. However, an interdisciplinary team at Ruhr University Bochum, Germany, has now proven the opposite. In aqueous solution, fluorescent carbon nanotubes move much slower once they are irradiated with light. During this process, the diffusion constant decreases with light intensity, an effect linked to direct coupling between electrons in the solid and the molecules of the liquid. The research teams of Sebastian Kruss, Marialore Sulpizi, and Martina Havenith describes the hitherto unknown phenomenon in the science journal Nature from June 10, 2026. “This discovery of light-induced quantum friction fundamentally changes our understanding of interfacial processes,” says Kruss.

A drop of dye added to a glass of water undergoes ordinary diffusion. However, when placed on the surface of a foam, the dye spreads differently – diffusion becomes anomalous. An example of this is the pattern on the froth of a cup of cappuccino. Interestingly, the latest research suggests that diffusion equations in a heterogeneous environment can also describe social phenomena, such as election results or the behaviour of stock market traders.