Researchers have reported new experimental results addressing the origin of rare proton-rich isotopes heavier than iron, called p-nuclei. Led by Artemis Tsantiri, then-graduate student at the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) and current postdoctoral fellow at the University of Regina in Canada, the study presents the first rare isotope beam measurement of proton capture on arsenic-73 to produce selenium-74, providing new constraints on how the lightest p-nucleus is formed and destroyed in the cosmos. The team published its results in Physical Review Letters (“Constraining the Synthesis of the Lightest 𝑝 Nucleus ⁷⁴Se”).

A new study from UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography finds that marine microbes had mostly positive interactions with one another during a six-year study. These positive interactions became even more common during times of environmental stress. 

Rye pollen slows tumor growth in animal models of cancer. Chemists determined the 3D structure of the bioactive molecules in rye pollen. With new blueprint, researchers could develop strategies for cancer treatment.

In a paper published January 21 in Nature, a team led by scientists at the University of Wisconsin–Madison have run complex numerical simulations of plasma flows that, while leading to turbulence, also develop structured flows due to the formation of large-scale jets.

Generative AI models can propose molecular structures guided by target properties, compressing what once took years of trial-and-error into hours of computation. A team of researchers has now developed a new method that advances this capability even further. The method, PropMolFlow (Property-guided Molecular Flow), can generate molecular candidates roughly 10 times faster than existing methods—and without compromising the accuracy or chemical validity of the results. 

A UCLA-led, multi-institution research team has discovered a metallic material with the highest thermal conductivity measured among metals, challenging long-standing assumptions about the limits of heat transport in metallic materials. Thte team reported that metallic theta-phase tantalum nitride conducts heat nearly three times more efficiently than copper or silver, the best conventional heat-conducting metals. The study was published in Science.

Most coral disease detection today relies on visual surveys by divers, often identifying disease only after significant damage has occurred. This limits the ability of scientists and reef managers to intervene early, when treatments are most effective.

This WHOI-led study shows that microorganisms in seawater surrounding corals provide a clear, non-invasive signal of disease, offering a new way to detect reef health threats without physically disturbing corals.

New research from the University of Rochester suggests that molten rock deep inside so-called super-earths may generate powerful magnetic fields necessary for sustaining life.