A piece of research carried out by the EHU’s Spectroscopy Group and the Biofisika Institute (CSIC/EHU) and published in the prestigious Journal of the American Chemical Society has analysed the stepwise hydration of prolinol, a molecule widely used as a catalyst and as a building block in chemical synthesis. The study shows that just a few water molecules are capable of completely changing the preferred structure of prolinol.

The static nature of conventional phonon polaritonic crystals (PoCs) limits their use in adaptive nanophotonics. Now, scientists have created a hybrid α-MoO₃/graphene PoC that achieves dynamic control of low-loss Bloch modes. Using electrostatic gating, they demonstrated real-time reconfiguration of mode patterns and intensity. This approach also enabled selective signal enhancement via "flat bands" and achieved switchable far-field leakage. This platform paves the way for reconfigurable optical devices and adaptive optical devices.

A University of Missouri researcher is pioneering an innovative solution to remove tiny bits of plastic pollution from our water.

Surface ozone pollution remains stubbornly persistent even as emissions of traditional precursors decline. 

Electromagnetic pulses (EMPs) generated from nuclear explosions, high-power electromagnetic pulse devices, and intentional electromagnetic interference can significantly impact civilian and military infrastructure. Recently, researchers from the Republic of Korea and the USA have developed a transparent glass window based on an asymmetric hexagonal metal mesh film with ultra-wideband EMP-shielding capabilities for infrastructure protection. Notably, the proposed innovation is resistant to humidity, mechanical abrasion, and corrosive species.

By changing the physical structure of gold at the nanoscale, researchers can drastically change how the material interacts with light – and, as a result, its electronic and optical properties. This is shown by a study from Umeå University published in Nature Communications.

Low algal growth despite high iron supply: A new study in Nature Geoscience uncovers a surprising link between West Antarctic Ice Sheet retreat and the growth of marine algae over the past 500,000 years. The team's findings suggest that global warming could potentially result in a reduced uptake of carbon dioxide in the Pacific sector of the Southern Ocean if the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, which is considered unstable, continues to shrink. 

Researchers employed the Einstein-Maxwell-Dilaton (EMD) holographic QCD model combined with Bayesian analysis to conduct a detailed investigation into the thermodynamic properties and dissociation processes of heavy quarkonium as it traverses the Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP) medium during relativistic heavy-ion collisions. The study primarily calculated thermodynamic quantities such as the dissociation distance, potential energy, and binding energy of heavy quarkonium under varying temperatures and chemical potentials. The results indicate that increasing temperature and chemical potential reduce the dissociation distance of heavy quarkonium while suppressing its potential and binding energies. This demonstrates that elevated temperature and chemical potential significantly promote the dissociation of heavy quarkonium, thereby providing clearer insights into the influence of color screening effects in the QGP medium on the stability of heavy quarkonium. This study represents the first systematic quantification of the effect of chemical potential on the dissociation process within a holographic framework, offering key theoretical predictions for understanding the properties of QGP in high baryon density regions.