Sand may seem simple, but for scientists it is one of nature’s trickiest materials to model. At the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA), researchers are reimagining sand one grain at a time, showing how tiny changes in shape can make sand flow, pile up, resist pressure—or even withstand attacks like a fortified (sand)castle. The findings were presented at a leading computer graphics conference and published in ACM Transactions on Graphics.

A comprehensive synthesis published in the South African Journal of Geology evaluates 25 years of research on the Karoo Supergroup, an exceptional ~120-million-year rock record spanning the Late Carboniferous to Early Jurassic. Integrating multi-proxy sedimentology, U-Pb geochronology, magnetostratigraphy, and palaeontology, the review evaluates long-standing basin models and refines the stratigraphic architecture across southern Gondwana.

The synthesised data challenge simplistic models of linear aridification, revealing non-linear palaeoclimate oscillations – including short-lived pluvial episodes in the Carnian (Late Triassic) and extensive lacustrine-erg interactions in the Pliensbachian (Early Jurassic). Furthermore, it spotlights the improved resolution of the Karoo biozonation, a core of studies on palaeo-ecosystem dynamics, and documents patterns of ecological collapse, persistence, and recovery across four major deep-time biocrises: the end-Capitanian, end-Permian, end-Triassic, and end-Pliensbachian. This synthesis establishes an updated framework to resolve intra-basin heterogeneity and optimise the correlation of Pan-Gondwanan tectonic-climatic events.

The release of marine isoprene is an important component of material exchange between the ocean and the atmosphere, and its long-term variability and climatic drivers have attracted widespread attention. A research team led by Professor Jialei Zhu at Tianjin University constructed a global marine isoprene emission flux dataset spanning 1950–2020 using machine learning and an improved parameterization scheme. Basing on this dataset, they have revealed mechanisms through which the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) modulates the interannual variability of marine isoprene emissions by influencing sea surface temperature, solar radiation, surface winds, phytoplankton activity, and other environmental factors. This study has been published in 2026 Chinese and English editions of SCIENCE CHINA Earth Sciences.

The researchers demonstrate ultra-effective growths of archetypal metastable correlated-perovskites, e.g. nickelates (RENiO₃), via liquid phase epitaxy within alkali-chlorides molten-salts, realizing micrometer-thickness and scalability. This bridges technological-discontinuities in micrometer-thick film-growths of RENiO₃, achieving record-competing electronic phase transitions at analog-compatible resistances enabling more effective and energy-efficient analog cryogenic alarming applications. Wafer-scale RENiO₃ with high-uniformity was firstly successfully grown within low melting-point eutectic alkali-chlorides, eliminating previous reliance on MPa-high oxygen-pressures. This strategy was extendable to multiple functional oxide-systems.

A new World Health Organization (WHO) analysis estimates that approximately 171 million illnesses worldwide were attributable to foodborne transmission of invasive parasites, highlighting the significant burden these often-overlooked diseases continue to place on global health.

This research, which includes contributions from Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (VMBS) professor Dr. Christine Budke, updates global estimates for 14 foodborne parasitic diseases. Although progress has been made over the past decade in decreasing their prevalence, the findings show these illnesses continue to disproportionately affect vulnerable populations around the world.