You’ve heard of qubits, now get ready for p-bits! These units form the building blocks of probabilistic computers that can solve certain problems more efficiently than traditional computers. A team of international researchers found a way to do without a power-hungry, bulky, analog component to allow for a fully digital p-bit design.

Researchers have developed new means of recycling a common pollutant associated with groundwater and agricultural runoff: nitrate.  By developing an electrocatalyst that turns nitrate into ammonia, they have also helped make ammonia production more greener.

Every bit of technology fails eventually, whether time, wear-and-tear, adverse conditions, or perhaps a mixture of all three are the cause of its demise. Yet predicting when technology might fail is notoriously difficult. When designing equipment for clear-energy systems, engineers often over compensate for this by designing it to withstand more stress than needed. This generates waste, and can sometimes inadvertently increase the wear and tear on materials. Now, an international research team has developed a way to more accurately predict how long mechanical-equipment used in green technology will last, potentially leading to more efficient design processes.

Researchers at the Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI), Kanazawa University, report in ACS Nano the successful creation of artificial synaptic vesicles that can be remotely controlled by near-infrared (NIR) light. By embedding a phthalocyanine dye into lipid bilayers, the team achieved local heating that modulates membrane permeability, enabling precise release of neurotransmitters such as acetylcholine. These findings demonstrate that nanoscale heating can control communication between nerve cells. The work opens new avenues for non-genetic modulation of neuronal activity, with potential applications in neuroscience, drug delivery, and bioengineering.

Researchers at the Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI), Kanazawa University, have developed a breakthrough method for quantitative imaging of ATP levels inside living cells. The study, published in Nature Communications, introduces qMaLioffG, a genetically encoded fluorescence lifetime indicator that allows scientists to observe how cells produce and consume energy in real time.

A team at Tohoku University’s AIMR has developed an ultra-high-temperature temperature-programmed desorption method capable of heating carbon materials to 2,100 °C. Combined with mass spectrometry and model material design, the technique enables complete quantitative and qualitative analysis of nitrogen dopants, offering unprecedented insight into buried nitrogen environments in carbon materials.

Producing this critical item consumes vast amounts of electricity, with current electrodes relying on noble metals that are costly and limited. However, a research group has used “volcano” modeling to identify new catalyst candidates that do not require scarce metals.

Researchers at Tohoku University used the Digital Hydrogen Platform - which combines data from over five thousand meticulously curated experimental records - as a tool to guide materials design for hydrogen storage.