WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) marks a major milestone with the 20th anniversary of the Mercury Pulsed Power Facility, a cutting-edge research platform that continues to enable significant advancements in the fields of flash x-ray radiography, detection of nuclear materials, and radiation hardness of defense systems.

Beryllium-10, a rare radioactive isotope produced by cosmic rays in the atmosphere, provides valuable insights into the Earth's geological history. A research team from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), in collaboration with the TUD Dresden University of Technology and the Australian National University (ANU), has discovered an unexpected accumulation of this isotope in samples taken from the Pacific seabed. Such an anomaly may be attributed to shifts in ocean currents or astrophysical events that occurred approximately 10 million years ago. The findings hold the potential to serve as a global time marker, representing a promising advancement in the dating of geological archives spanning millions of years. The team presents its results in the scientific journal Nature Communications (DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-55662-4).

Glycosylation is the process by which cells add sugar groups (also called carbohydrates) to proteins to modify their functions. EMBL researchers developed a new method to systematically and quantitatively study glycosylation and used it to show that gut bacteria can influence glycosylation patterns in the brains of mice. Using this method, the researchers could identify over 150,000 glycosylated forms of proteins (‘proteoforms') in the brain, a more than 25-fold increase over previous studies. The study sheds new light on connections between the microbiome and the nervous system and provides a new method to study glycosylation's role in fundamental biological processes.

Incorporating trace amounts of Cu atoms into n-type Bi₂(Te, Se)₃ simultaneously realizes lattice plainification and band structure engineering, thus substantially facilitating thermoelectric transport and leading to excellent device efficiencies.

Euclid, the European Space Agency’s dark Universe detective, has made an astonishing discovery – right in our cosmic backyard.

Certain advanced technologies, such as 3D displays, biosensing, and security printing, can utilize circularly polarized luminescence (CPL), which is produced when specific types of molecules are irradiated with UV light. The electric field of the CPL rotates in a spiral shape. Mechanical changes to these molecules, such as grinding, can induce a transition that creates a reversible emission color change. This is called mechanochromic luminescence (MCL). To improve CPL efficiency after grinding, researchers tested two different readily available compounds and how the CPL properties changed upon grinding.

Sixth-generation, or 6G, cellular networks are the next step in wireless communication, and electromagnetic terahertz waves are seen as crucial to its development. However, terahertz waves, with their higher frequency and shorter wavelength, are subject to greater interference from electromagnetic noise, making clear and secure transmission a challenge. Researchers from the University of Tokyo, as part of a multi-institution team, have now created an electromagnetic wave absorber for waves between 0.1–1 terahertz (THz). This greatly expands the range of the terahertz frequency which could be commercially used in the future. The ultrathin film is inexpensive, environmentally friendly and can be used outdoors, as it is resistant to heat, water, light and organic solvents.