A synthetic key enzyme enables the conversion of CO₂ into formic acid

AIP’s 2026 Karl Taylor Compton Medal for leadership in physics is being awarded to Professor John Holdren of Harvard University and former Chief Science & Technology Advisor to President Obama. Named after prominent physicist Karl Taylor Compton, the medal is presented by AIP every two years to a highly a distinguished physicist who has made outstanding contributions to physics through exceptional statesmanship in science. Holdren was chosen by the selection committee “for his scientific leadership in engaging the public and promoting sound governmental policies and key international agreements.”

Washington State University researchers have found a way to modulate a common virus protein to prevent viruses from entering cells where it can cause illness, a discovery that could someday lead to new antiviral treatments. In the fundamental research, reported in the journal Nanoscale, the researchers in the School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering and the Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology were able to find and block an important interaction at the molecular level that allows the herpes virus to enter cells.

Scientists at Aarhus University have developed nanomotors inspired by the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes and placed them inside artificial cells. The nanomotors drive the formation of internal protein networks resembling a cytoskeleton, giving artificial cells a life-like function previously seen only in living cells and marking a step toward self-organizing synthetic systems.

In a newly published review, Professor Xiao-Jun Huang's team at Peking University People's Hospital explore how haploidentical hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (haplo-HSCT), once limited by severe immune complications, has transformed into a routine treatment and a unique platform for studying the restoration of immune homeostasis.

Identifying the molecular basis of obesity has been a cornerstone in metabolic research. Building on this, a research team from Chonnam National University Medical School, Republic of Korea, discovered a new role of Ret finger protein (RFP) in driving fat cell formation and metabolism. They found that mice lacking RFP resisted weight gain and had better metabolic profile even on a high-fat diet—highlighting RFP as a promising target for obesity and related metabolic diseases.

Doenjang, a traditional Korean fermented soybean paste, contains natural umami and kokumi-active compounds. A new study from Jeonbuk National University found that monosodium glutamate (MSG) and nucleotide-based seasonings affect doenjang soup differently. Nucleotides mainly boost umami, while MSG strongly enhances both umami and kokumi, resulting in higher consumer acceptance.

Femtosecond laser-induced periodic surface structures can be used to control thermal conductivity in thin film solids, report researchers from Japan. Their innovative method, which leverages high-speed laser ablation, produces parallel nanoscale grooves with unprecedented throughput that is 1,000 times stronger than conventional approaches, strategically altering phonon scattering in the material. This scalable and semiconductor-ready approach could make it possible to mass-produce thermal engineering structures while maintaining laboratory-level precision.