A research team led by Prof. Yiwen Li and Associate Prof. Yuanting Xu from Sichuan University developed a hydrogel-based evaporator that dramatically enhanced solar-driven water purification by accelerating water transport and reducing evaporation enthalpy. By engineering a hierarchical porous structure with gallic acid, the system achieved efficient, stable, and low-cost solar-driven water purification, offering a promising route toward scalable and sustainable clean water purification.

Think of the economy as a giant web where every person, company, and country is linked. When something big happens — a pandemic, the rise of artificial intelligence, or a climate-driven disaster — it doesn’t just hit one strand. The shock ripples across the entire web, creating effects in real time that are hard to predict.

That’s the central theme of The Economy as an Evolving Complex System IV (SFI Press, 2026), the newest volumes in a series launched at the Santa Fe Institute nearly four decades ago to rethink economics through the lens of complexity science. Rather than assuming markets always balance neatly, these books treat the economy as a living system that grows, changes, and reacts in ways that are hard to predict.

Researchers led by physicists at the University of Bath in the UK have found that adding a twist during the fabrication of optical fibres creates a more robust pathway for light, minimising the effects of manufacturing flaws that can cause signals to be lost.

Smart cushioning materials with sensing features can enable real-time detection of damage to transport goods. However, current sensing technologies require wired connections for power and data transmission, limiting applicability. In a new study, researchers have developed a novel origami-inspired wireless, battery-free smart cushioning material that can accurately detect and provide measurement of damage to transported goods. This material holds strong potential for improving logistics and transport traceability.