Air filters are essential for protecting human health by removing harmful particulate matter from the air. However, conventional filters often struggle to securely retain captured particles, allowing some to detach over time and reducing filtration performance. To address this longstanding challenge, researchers from Chung-Ang University and Pusan National University developed an innovative self-renewing adhesive coating designed to improve particle retention, paving the way for more efficient and durable air filtration technologies.

Oligonucleotide synthesis is fundamental to genetic analysis, biological research, and nucleic acid therapeutics. However, current methods rely on moisture-sensitive building blocks and require a dedicated oxidation step with each chain elongation, making it operationally complex. To address this, researchers from Japan have developed a new approach using phosphorofluoridate building blocks, enabling efficient oxidation-free oligonucleotide synthesis. This advance simplifies the synthetic workflow, offering a faster and more reliable platform for nucleotide chemistry.

To improve carbon recycling and reduce emissions, researchers at Science Tokyo developed iron-substituted calcium titanate (Fe-doped CaTiO₃) as an environmentally friendly support material for chemical looping, a process that converts carbon dioxide (CO₂) into carbon monoxide for fuel and chemical production. By substituting iron into CaTiO₃, the material gained oxygen vacancies and improved ion and electron transport, accelerating CO₂ conversion.  Built from widely available, low-cost elements, the material could help enable scalable carbon recycling. 

Hot fluids rising from Earth's interior have been driving mineral formation on the ocean floor for millions of years. In a new study, an international team of scientists led by first author Dr. Joely Maak (MARUM) now shows that microorganisms can also play a central role. At a hydrothermal system discovered off the Greek island of Milos at intermediate water depths in 2023, the team demonstrated how different intensities of hydrothermal fluid flow favor distinct microbial metabolisms and, in turn, control the formation of different minerals.

This study develops an ultrasound-responsive chitosan microsphere (UCC-rhBMP-2) for on-demand release of bioengineered rhBMP-2. The system demonstrates exceptional stability (>80% retention for 21 days) and rapid triggered release (>80% within 15 min) via cavitation-induced pore modulation. In a rat calvarial defect model, combined ultrasound and UCC-rhBMP-2 achieved 50.3% reduction in bone void volume and 1.9-fold increase in new bone area at 4 weeks, significantly outperforming controls.

Researchers at the Max Born Institute have developed a table-top technique in which attosecond pulses both initiate and probe electronic motion. Using all-attosecond transient absorption spectroscopy, the team resolved the oscillatory motion of an electron vacancy (an electronic “hole”) in xenon ions with a period of about three femtoseconds. The results have now been published in Nature Communications.

Scientists have discovered a previously unknown law of geometry that explains why some growing surfaces, whether in nature or engineered materials, suddenly stop being able to stay smooth and instead form dimples and folds. Until now, researchers believed they understood the geometric rules behind these shape changes, but this study reveals a new kind of "geometric frustration" that arises even when all the known rules are satisfied. The finding could reshape how scientists understand the formation of leaves, flowers, tissues and other natural structures, while helping engineers design smarter materials that can deliberately change shape for applications in soft robotics, medicine and advanced manufacturing.