Scientists at the University of Bath (UK) have produced a new azulene-based fluorescent probe that is five times brighter than the original molecule. Their research has uncovered the tiny molecular changes needed to transform both the colour and brightness of the probes, paving the way for more powerful imaging tools for detecting diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson’s and cancer.

A research team has developed a molecularly imprinted electrochemical sensor combined with a “conversion factor T” strategy to rapidly and selectively quantify the major lutein esters in marigold extracts. 

An international collaboration led by a research group from GSI/FAIR in Darmstadt, Germany, has achieved the first measurement of the chemical stability of a superheavy element compound. The focus was on the hexacarbonyl complex Sg(CO)₆ of seaborgium (Sg, element 106). The result: The bond between the seaborgium atom and a carbonyl ligand is weaker than expected based on its position in the periodic table. Relativistic effects are the cause. The results are published in the journal Nature.

Novel Sillén oxyhalides, exhibit high oxide-ion conductivity at low temperatures, chemical stability, and negligible chemical expansion. One of the materials achieves 0.01 S cm⁻¹ bulk conductivity at 233 °C—within the “Norby gap.” The discovery reveals an unexpected vacancy-mediated mechanism for oxide-ion transport despite excess oxygen, introducing a new materials-design concept for fast oxide-ion conductors and low-temperature solid oxide fuel cells. The present findings may open a new research field, “Oxide Ionics.”

Until now the alien white-hot worlds of exoplanets have been depicted as circular, but new research has revealed the true shape of their atmospheres to be a deformed sphere rather than perfectly circular.

Researchers created a nationwide pollution snapshot of 4 diamide insecticides (DAIs) across 47 cities and 9 major Chinese river basins. Cyantraniliprole (CYTP) was the most abundant, but broflanilide (BFA) produced the highest screening-level concern for benthic midges because its species-specific chronic threshold was lower. Crop-use patterns shaped regional composition patterns. Children’s modeled cumulative exposure from raw surface-water ingestion was 2.4 times the adults’ value, although all hazard quotients remained below 1.