The design and industrial application of autothermal reactors for CO₂-to-methanol synthesis face significant challenges due to multiscale transport phenomena, intrinsic multi-stability, and difficulties in scaling from laboratory to industrial scales. This review highlights the need for advanced modeling approaches, particularly Virtual and Digital Twins, to optimize reactor performance and enable reliable scale-up for sustainable methanol production.

Scientists have demonstrated a fiber-optic sensing method that detects strain and displacement by reading interference patterns in the electrical spectrum after photodetection. The approach uses modal delay in polymer optical fibers and may support faster, simpler sensing systems.

Now in its 28th year, the European Congress of Endocrinology (ECE) 2026 commences on Saturday 9 May and runs until Tuesday 12 May. The Congress will bring together endocrine specialists from across Europe and the rest of the world to meet, collaborate and celebrate endocrinology at the Prague Congress Centre in Prague, Czech Republic. This year’s Congress will also celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the European Society of Endocrinology (ESE) since the formation of the Society in 2006. 

Li metal batteries (LMBs), owing to their high theoretical specific energy, are considered a crucial development direction for future high-energy-density battery systems. However, the high reactivity of the Li metal anode leads to extreme electrochemical and chemical instability at the interface with the electrolyte. This instability triggers detrimental effects, including Li dendrite growth, repeated cracking and reformation of the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI), and continuous irreversible consumption of both active Li and electrolyte. Therefore, designing high-performance electrolytes to precisely regulate interfacial chemistry has become one of the core strategies for advancing the practical application of LMBs. Significant progress has recently been made in stabilizing the Li metal–electrolyte interface (Li-electrolyte interface) through strategies including additives, weakly solvating electrolytes (WSEs), high-concentration/localized high-concentration electrolytes (HCEs/LHCEs), and novel molecular design. Nevertheless, these advanced strategies and their corresponding stabilization mechanisms have not yet been systematically organized. To address this gap, this review focuses on four core electrolyte design strategies and systematically summarizes their mechanisms for stabilizing the Li-electrolyte interface. Building on this foundation, it discusses the inherent limitations of individual electrolyte design strategies. It then focuses on the potential of synergistic electrolyte design to achieve a more electrochemically stable Li-electrolyte interface. Finally, it proposes future research directions requiring key focus for existing electrolyte design strategies.

"Super quasars" – extremely bright galactic centers powered by supermassive black holes – are the likely culprits behind galaxies shutting down star formation long before they should have in the very young universe, according to a Nature paper led by a team of University of Arizona astronomers.