Computer modeling could solve the real-world problem of detecting designer drugs. These drugs are developed to replicate the effects of known drugs but evade law enforcement. The chemical structure variations that help these compounds avoid detection also make them unpredictable and potentially dangerous in the body. A research team has created a database of predicted chemical structures for improved designer drug identification. They will present their results at ACS Fall 2025.

An international team of scientists led by researchers from Germany has observed the earliest steps of charge separation in a complex dye molecule. As the researchers report in the journal Nature Chemistry, high-frequency vibrations of atomic nuclei within the molecule play a central role in this light-induced charge transfer. Their experiments showed that the forces that these vibrations exert on electrons initiate charge transport, whereas processes in the surrounding solvent, which were previously assumed to initiate charge transfer, begin only at a later stage.

Astronomers from Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, have discovered a vast and expanding bubble of gas and dust surrounding a red supergiant star – the largest structure of its kind ever seen in the Milky Way. The bubble, which contains as much mass as the Sun, was blown out in a mysterious stellar eruption around 4000 years ago. Why the star survived such a powerful event is a puzzle, the scientists say.

The new results are published in the scientific journal Astronomy and Astrophysics, and the team was led by Mark Siebert, Chalmers, Sweden. Using the ALMA radio telescope in Chile, the researchers observed the star DFK 52 – a red supergiant similar to the well-known star Betelgeuse.

In Physics of Fluids, researchers use computational fluid dynamics and aerodynamic experiments to explore the phenomenon of the controversial badminton “spin serve.” The researchers used simulated the trajectories of a shuttlecock during serves under three conditions: without pre-spin, with pre-spin in the direction of the shuttlecock’s natural spin, and with pre-spin against the natural spin. They found that the shuttlecock undergoes three phases during the serve: the turnover phase, the oscillation phase, and the stabilization phase.

In APL Bioengineering, researchers introduce a simple way to improve our sense of smell using radio waves, which can directly target the part of our brain responsible for smell, without causing pain. In the test, a small radio antenna was placed near volunteers’ foreheads and emitted radio waves to reach the smell-related nerves deep in the brain. The team found that their method improved subjects’ sense of smell for over a week after just one treatment.

Scientists and chefs have collaborated on a new study that demonstrates how fermented foods can be used to drive participatory science projects that both engage the public and advance our understanding of microbial ecology. The study focused on working with food experts and the public to examine the microbial communities associated with kombucha, kimchi and chow chow.