Polymer-based adhesives are essential for bonding lightweight materials used in transportation; however, how individual polymer chains behave at solid interfaces has remained unclear. In a recent study, researchers from Japan used atomic force microscopy to directly visualize the motions of individual segments in isolated polymer chains adsorbed on a solid surface. Their findings reveal new dynamics that challenge conventional assumptions of how polymers interact with surfaces, paving the way to innovative molecular design strategies.

A new kind of laser could pave the way for practical nuclear clocks—devices that measure time with incredible precision by measuring the "ticking" of thorium atoms.

Augmented reality could transform job training for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. In a new study, participants correctly completed just 14% of job-task steps on their own. With AR guidance, accuracy jumped to 93%, with some reaching 100%, and all achieved mastery across sessions. After only a 15-minute AR training session, participants reached at least 75% independence—progress that typically takes two to four months with traditional coaching—highlighting AR’s potential to accelerate workplace readiness and expand access to competitive employment.

Wavelogix, which licenses patented concrete strength sensor technology developed at Purdue University, has received an SBIR Phase IIB grant from the National Science Foundation worth $500,000. Wavelogix CEO Joe Turek said, “This investment from the NSF enables us to focus on the engineering and manufacturing improvements that will make the Rebel system ready for widespread commercial deployment. We’re at an inflection point where the technology can start delivering real value at scale for the construction industry.”

In a paper published today in Nature Synthesis, a team from the lab of University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (UChicago PME) and Chemistry Department Prof. Paul Alivisatos explores the role of cation exchange in one of chemistry and material science’s central challenges: How covalent materials undergo structural change at the nanoscale. This greater understanding of how materials transform could have applications for designing and building semiconductors, unraveling complex chemical processes or creating previously unimagined material architectures, for example, in this work, nanocubes of indium arsenide (InAs) and gallium arsenide (GaAs). The team applied a cellular automaton computational model to explore the science, building a clear, simple model for future researchers to envision these minute changes. They believe this is the first time a cellular automaton model has been applied to the cation exchange reactions of nanocrystals.

A research team from the University of Tokyo and Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology uncovered a new mechanism of Yaku’amide B, a deep-sea sponge-derived natural product. Using photoaffinity labeling, they found that yaku’amide B transiently binds CD9, inducing its degradation, in addition to inhibiting ATP synthase. This dual action suppresses cancer cell proliferation and migration, opening new avenues for anticancer drug development and protein degradation strategies.

A compact fiber-based system has been developed to compress mid-infrared laser pulses to 187 femtoseconds using low input power. By integrating a holmium-doped ZBLAN photonic crystal fiber within a nonlinear optical loop mirror, the approach achieves high compression efficiency with minimal pedestal energy, offering a simplified route to ultrafast mid-IR sources for spectroscopy and biomedical imaging.