Two research teams from the Universitat Jaume I of Castelló and the Public University of Navarre have developed a passive thermoelectric subcooling device for self-contained refrigeration units that improves the efficiency and performance of the refrigeration circuit.

The invention is particularly applicable to the commercial refrigeration sector, specifically to self-contained refrigeration units used to preserve perishable products, as it not only reduces the energy consumption of the equipment but also increases its control capacity.

The new device can be easily integrated into self-contained refrigeration units. It is compact, robust and silent, offers a high level of control thanks to thermoelectric mechanisms, and has no moving parts, which means minimal maintenance. Its main advantages include improved energy efficiency of the refrigeration unit, ease of integration, low maintenance requirements and the absence of noise.

A research team in Kumamoto University has discovered that a natural compound found in pomegranate leaves and branches can directly break down harmful protein aggregates linked to transthyretin (TTR) amyloidosis, a progressive and potentially life-threatening disease affecting the nerves and heart.

Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar and the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (Leipzig) have shown how natural ocean cycles and rainfall patterns prevent a synchronised, planet‑wide drought and global-scale agricultural collapse. Based on over 100 years of climate data, the study finds that though warming increases drought severity, synchronised droughts are rarer than expected, affecting only 1.8–6.5% of land at any time. By treating droughts as a connected global system, the research team has identified key “drought hubs” and early‑warning regions that can help stabilise food markets.

Orbitronics devices use an electron’s orbital angular momentum to store and process more information, much more efficiently. Typically, generating orbital currents requires magnetic metals that are heavy and expensive. For the first time ever, researchers prove that atomic vibrations can transfer orbital angular momentum directly to electrons in a non-magnetic material, quartz. The method will work on other chiral materials, such as tellurium, selenium and hybrid organic/inorganic perovskites, and is the most streamlined system yet for orbitronics research.

Superhydrophobic surfaces — those famously “never-wet” materials that make water bead up and roll away — have a stubborn weakness: hot water. Once temperatures climb above roughly 40 degrees Celsius, many superhydrophobic coatings abruptly lose their magic. Instead of skittering off, hot droplets start sticking, soaking into the surface texture and leaving behind wet patches and residue. A new study from mechanical engineers at Rice University describes a surprisingly straightforward fix: Instead of just engineering the surface’s chemistry and texture, they focused on engineering its heat flow.