A new catalyst strategy developed at Institute of Science Tokyo uses BaSi₂ as a support for nickel and cobalt to decompose ammonia at lower temperatures. By forming unique ternary transition metal–nitrogen–barium intermediates that facilitate nitrogen coupling, the system lowers the energy barrier for ammonia decomposition. This enables nickel- and cobalt-based catalysts to achieve high hydrogen-production activity at reduced temperatures, matching the performance of ruthenium while relying on Earth-abundant metals for cleaner hydrogen generation.

Diastereomers are molecules with identical structures that are not mirror images of each other, described as anti or syn for molecules without rings. Researchers at the University of Osaka developed a strategy for using a rigid cage-like molecule to produce an anti-diastereomer in high yield. This diastereomer can only be obtained as a minor byproduct by traditional methods. The strategy is expected to become a key technology for making medicines and other bioactive substances.

Soils surrounding large, ancient alerce trees in Chile accumulate a disproportionately high diversity of fungi, which help store more carbon and make the entire forest healthier, suggesting that protecting the biggest, oldest trees offers exceptionally outsized benefits.

With the speed at which technology advances, there is little room for suboptimal performance and out-of-date tech. Precise positioning is a field where advancement is needed, as many conventional applications feature tools that are much larger than the objects being worked upon, making high precision a difficult task. Additionally, those that are highly precise have a limited range of motion. Researchers did not want to compromise, and instead set out to create a highly precise machine with a wide range of motion, and were able to do so by developing a palm-sized, precise positioning robot making use of piezoelectric actuators.

Results were published in Advanced Intelligence Systems in January 2026.

A research team has conducted a study exploring the role of the mannose pathway in regulating cell fate decisions in low glucose environments. Their work may hold potential for novel therapeutic strategies in cancer treatments. The research is published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry on January 28, 2026.

Scientists at the EU4MOFs research network have taken the initiative to standardise the reporting of synthetic procedures and material properties of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs). To this aim they have developed the concept of a ‘Material Preparation Information File (MPIF)’, which has been introduced in a recent paper in Advanced Materials.

Researchers have discovered how tiny organisms break the laws of physics to swim faster — such secrets of mesoscale physics and fluid dynamics can offer entirely new pathways for engineering and medicine.

For autonomous driving, UAV tracking and beyond, light detection and ranging (LiDAR) is a core 3D imaging technology. Recently, scientists in China developed a LiDAR architecture integrating an astigmatic metalens (AML) with spectral-acoustic coordinated scanning, achieving 36.6 MHz frame-wise point acquisition rate, 102° wide FOV, and 0.37° angular resolution simultaneously. This breakthrough redefines LiDAR’s potential for ultra-high-speed, high-precision perception, enhancing applications such as autonomous driving with improved obstacle detection and safety at high speeds.

Scientists from the UK and China have developed a lateral-graded multilayer grating that addresses a key challenge in tender X-ray RIXS technique. Demonstrated at the I21 beamline in Diamond Light Source, the new optics increases photon flux by a factor of 12 to 25 compared to the conventional single-layer gratings while maintaining the energy resolution. This enables the world’s first tender RIXS spectrometer based on the multilayer grating technology.