New single-cell technology reveals a critical blind spot in how scientists track immune activity. CIPHER-seq captures RNA and protein together, exposing real-time immune signals missed by standard methods—an advance that could improve immunotherapy design and prediction of patient response.

A new University at Buffalo study finds that Americans produce similar amounts of plastic packaging waste no matter their income, education, or location. However, wealthier and more educated communities recycle significantly more. The study suggests this gap is largely due to unequal access to recycling infrastructure, making it harder for some communities to recycle effectively.

As the global push for carbon neutrality accelerates, managing the massive energy demands and waste heat of industrial sectors has become a critical challenge. Industrial energy systems currently account for nearly 40% of global electricity demand growth. To address this, scientists are increasingly turning to a promising long-duration energy storage technology: the Carnot battery.

Butterfly wings were the inspiration behind this new, lightweight lattice structure that doesn’t compromise on sturdiness.

XPANCEO has unveiled a passive eye-tracking system that uses microscopic patterns embedded in contact lenses and works with standard cameras. The technology achieves industry-level precision without infrared illumination, active electronics, or dedicated power sources. This could expand eye tracking across everyday devices, clinical settings, and other camera-equipped environments.

A research team led by Dr. Young Hun Kang at the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT) has developed an eco-friendly, high-performance thermoelectric material based on silver selenide (Ag₂Se), fabricated under significantly milder temperature and pressure conditions than conventional methods.

Scientists in Japan have developed a high-resolution X-ray telescope sharp enough to distinguish an object just 3.5 mm wide from one kilometer away, by combining precision mirror-making technology with space astronomy. To test its performance, they built a first-of-its-kind evaluation system, capable of simulating starlight on the ground to measure the telescope's sharpness before its launch on the US-Japan FOXSI sounding rocket mission. The findings, published in Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, represent a landmark achievement for Japanese X-ray astronomy and pave the way for high-resolution X-ray observations on future smaller satellites.