Photocatalytic water splitting for H₂ evolution is expected to be a feasible strategy to alleviate environmental and energy pressure. A defect-engineered TiO₂-Ov/Zn_0.5Cd_0.5S S-scheme heterojunction is designed and constructed by in situ growing Zn_0.5Cd_0.5S nanoparticles on flower-like TiO₂ microspheres with oxygen vacancies. The defect-engineered S-scheme heterojunction with dual charge transfer pathways endows excellent light absorption ability, effective spatial separation and transfer of photo-induced charge, and superior redox capacity, thus achieving high-efficiency photocatalytic H₂ evolution.

Researchers, including those from the University of Tokyo, pioneered a new method for encapsulating cells within small, soft capsules. This is useful for various kinds of research where the properties of a cell, including its behaviors and interactions, need to be isolated and measured. Previous methods required more specialized equipment, time and expertise. The new method needs only basic lab equipment and can open up access to advanced 3D cell culture research to a broad range of researchers. 

A new technology created by Heriot-Watt University is poised to upend one of the most stubborn bottlenecks in modern manufacturing.

FreeForm Photonics is set to commercialise a laser-based process that builds alignment directly into optical glass components, removing the painstaking manual calibration that currently accounts for more than half of all photonics production costs.

The result is a manufacturing pathway that is faster, cheaper and precise to sub-micron tolerances, a scale far smaller than the width of a human hair. It also removes the complexity that has long made photonic systems prohibitively expensive to scale.

The implications stretch across some of the most consequential technologies of the coming decade. Sectors like Quantum computing systems, next-generation medical diagnostics and the optical communications infrastructure underpinning the modern internet. These all depend on photonic components that are currently largely assembled by hand.

Richard E. Carson, PhD, has been named the 2026 recipient of the prestigious Paul C. Aebersold Award. Carson is professor of Biomedical Engineering and of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, as well as emeritus director of the Yale PET Center. The award was announced by the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) during its 2026 Annual Meeting.

Fe-N-C interfacial engineering on commercial Pt/C catalysts, via unique 5d-3d/2p orbital hybridization, enables a breakthrough in fuel cell durability and performance. The engineered PtFe/C@Fe-N-C catalyst maintains 97.3% of its activity after 30,000 accelerated stress cycles. This exceptional stability and its high mass activity decisively surpass both the performance of pristine Pt/C and the U.S. Department of Energy's 2025 technical targets.

A new study shows that hydrochar, a carbon-rich material made from wet biomass, can improve soil structure and help soils store more carbon more effectively than several common organic amendments.