A research team at Saitama University has used first-principles quantum-mechanical calculations to clarify how various atomic-scale defects control the electronic structure, excitonic behavior, and optical properties of carbon quantum dots. The findings provide atomistic design guidelines for environmentally friendly carbon nanomaterials with potential applications in fluorescence sensing, photocatalysis, bioimaging, photothermal therapy, and optoelectronic devices.

The double-bond character of phosphates in solid and liquid phases was investigated using the P=O π* peaks in oxygen K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). In the solid phase, the double-bond character of phosphates increased with increasing negative charge; NaH₂PO₄ exhibited weak P=O π* peaks, whereas Na₃PO₄ exhibited prominent P=O π* peaks. In an aqueous Na₃PO₄ solution, the double-bond character was reduced owing to interactions between phosphate and Na⁺ as well as the formation of hydration structures. These findings provide insights into the influence of chemical environment on the electronic structure and reactivity of phosphate compounds involved in various biological processes such as adenosine triphosphate hydrolysis.

The eastern tropical Pacific Ocean is known for its large low-oxygen zones that are increasing in size, putting marine life at risk. New research shows that 15 million years ago, the opposite was true. A Michigan State University study found that oxygen-deficient waters were distributed very differently during the mid-Miocene Epoch than they are today. The Pacific Ocean’s oxygen-deficient zones were much smaller, while the Atlantic’s were much larger. Scientists had never documented this reversal before. A computer model helped explain why. By recreating ancient ocean conditions, Associate Professor Dalton Hardisty’steam learned that a channel between North and South America allowed water to move freely between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, reshaping ocean circulation and changing where low-oxygen waters formed.

The Ceramics Industries Research Association (AICE), in collaboration with the Universitat Jaume I of Castelló and 15 additional partners, is developing a project to test safe and clean industrial technologies that reduce risks to human health and biodiversity. The project is linked to the new Environmental Engineering Laboratory, whose technical committee includes Irina Celades and Eliseo Monfort. The project kick-off meeting was held on 15 and 16 June at the headquarters of the Ceramic Technology Institute (ITC) on the UJI campus. BRISA addresses the urgent challenge posed by emerging airborne industrial pollutants, which are linked to approximately 125,000 deaths annually. The aim is that its implementation in 600–800 industrial facilities will protect more than 45,000 workers by 2035, prevent hundreds of premature deaths each year, and reduce material consumption by 5% and energy consumption by 15%.

Researchers invent a laser technique that reveals the hidden forces shaping proteins, advancing a future of precision medicine engineered with quantum precision.

Salk scientists explore long-standing mystery of why iron that builds up in neuronal cells becomes harmful over time in neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, finding a new cellular process, named chronoferroptosis, wherein chronic iron dysregulation in neurons makes them more vulnerable to stressors. The study complements other ongoing research at Salk to design compounds that inhibit this pathway, and could be a promising future avenue for creating therapies that boost resilience in aging brains.

In a perspective published in Nature Reviews Earth & Environment, Colorado State University researchers describe a management approach to prevent the uptake of toxic metals in rice grains to protect human health.

Researchers combined adaptive optics and parallel optical coherence tomography to capture high-speed, 3D views of individual cells in the living retina. This non-invasive advance could drastically improve the early  detection and monitoring of chorioretinal diseases. 

Researchers have developed a frequency-domain thermoreflectance (FDTR) microscopy approach to visualize thermal conductivity and interfacial thermal conductance in thermal interface materials (TIMs) at the microscale. The study, published in Thermo-X, provides a direct imaging method for revealing structure–property relationships in particle-filled thermal composites used for electronic thermal management.