Haze pollution intensifies urban heat islands by modifying atmospheric optical properties. Scientists developed design guidelines for photonic coolers to achieve subambient daytime radiative cooling under haze-polluted skies, with a focus on the selective scattering of sunlight and infrared thermal emission. To validate these guidelines, scientists fabricated a proof-of-concept device consisting of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) films of varying thickness on a silver substrate.

A research team led by HONG Sungwoo, Associate Director of the Center for Catalytic Hydrocarbon Functionalizations within the Institute for Basic Science (IBS) and Professor at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), has developed a new molecular editing strategy that can directly convert pyridine compounds into their positional isomers. Instead of moving individual substituents around the molecule, the method relocates the nitrogen atom within the pyridine ring itself, allowing existing molecular structures to be reorganized while preserving their substituents.

A team led by researchers from the University of Osaka has used acoustic tweezers to analyze the mechanical properties of biopolymer droplets without needing to physically touch the material. Using this method, the team investigated the stiffness of condensates of a model biopolymer. This technique will further the knowledge of biopolymer droplets and their roles in cellular biology, and may lead to the discovery of novel methods of treating diseases caused by the dysfunction of these droplets.

Kyoto, Japan -- Close to a phase transition, very different materials can follow the same mathematical rules. The concept of universality, which groups seemingly distinct systems based on their common properties, was developed to describe this phenomenon. In magnetic systems, ferromagnets, ferrimagnets, and antiferromagnets fall into the same universality class when short-range interactions dominate and their spatial and spin dimensionalities coincide. However, this universality has not been established when long-range interactions dominate.

In insulating magnets, long-range coupling may originate from dipole-dipole interactions. However, dipolar-driven mean-field criticality has only been firmly established in ferromagnets, leaving the ferrimagnetic and antiferromagnetic cases unexplored. A collaborative team of researchers from Kyoto University, Tohoku University, and the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), set out to bridge this gap.

"Near a phase transition, the microscopically strongest interaction is not always the one that sets the critical rules," explains corresponding author Yusuke Nambu. "Exchange interactions build the ferrimagnetic state, but because dipolar interactions reach much farther, they determine how the material approaches the transition."

A naturally formed water repellent coating on hydrochar could play an overlooked role in protecting carbon from chemical degradation, according to a new study examining hydrochar made from several common plant leaves. The findings suggest that hydrophobic alkyl carbon derived from plant waxes and cutin can act as a protective surface layer, potentially improving the ability of hydrochar to retain carbon in soil.

A new study combines interpretable machine learning with laboratory experiments to uncover how the elemental composition of biochar influences persistent free radicals, offering a potential tool for predicting biochar reactivity and environmental risks.

A new imaging system produces clearer images taken through deep tissue, dense fog, or other environments where existing imaging systems struggle. Unlike standard near-infrared systems, it uses low-cost silicon-based detectors. The method could help improve cancer diagnosis and imaging systems used in self-driving cars.

A new, end-to-end, machine-learning-guided workflow created in the lab of UChicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering and Department of Chemistry Prof. Laura Gagliardi is helping smooth the path from academic idea to manufacture-ready reality in a single discovery process.