Researchers at the University of Jyväskylä (Finland) have developed a new class of synthetic molecules that can capture sulfate, a widespread industrial and environmental contaminant, with unprecedented efficiency in water. The study demonstrates that entangled molecular structures, long considered mainly chemical curiosities, can be deliberately engineered for real-world applications, including water purification, chemical sensing, and environmental monitoring.

Researchers from the Texas Center for Superconductivity (TcSUH) and the department of physics at the University of Houston have broken the temperature record for superconductivity at ambient pressure — a breakthrough that could eventually lead to more efficient ways to generate, transmit and store energy.

Researchers have developed a microscopic 3D-printed optical device that can efficiently combine light from dozens of small semiconductor lasers into a single multimode optical fiber with very low loss. The team demonstrated photonic lanterns that multiplex 7, 19, and 37 multimode VCSEL lasers directly into a fiber while preserving brightness and easing alignment constraints. By enabling scalable incoherent beam combining of many multimode lasers, the technology could simplify and improve high-power laser systems, optical communications, and other photonic applications where efficiently delivering large optical power through fibers is critical.

In Physics of Fluids, researchers model the way snow gathers on a roof based on snowflake size and distribution. The model considers how turbulence can affect recently landed snow and how wind can affect its gathering. Higher wind speeds will interrupt accumulation, reducing depth, but the effects of particle size on accumulation are all heightened under higher wind conditions — larger particles will be more resistant to the wind, and smaller ones will accumulate less.

In Physics of Fluids, researchers develop a computational model of outdoor airflow through trees to study how a tree’s geometry affects the dispersion of its airborne pollen grains. They modeled the porosity of a tree and incorporated an algorithm sensitive to small wind forces, taking into account the force required to detach a pollen grain. They applied their techniques to various known structures, compared the outcomes to real data, and found that the type and topology of a tree can lead to distinct pollen dispersion dynamics.

Wiley announces the release of Mass Spectra of Designer Drugs 2026, the essential GC‑MS spectral database used by forensic laboratories worldwide for the rapid identification of illicit substances.

A recently detected flash of energy appears to have emanated from the wreckage of colliding galaxies, according to an international team of astronomers led by Penn State scientists. The burst, known as GRB 230906A, was likely caused by the collision of two neutron stars hundreds of millions of years ago and is now shedding light on how the universe creates some of its heaviest elements.