Cancer cells often invade different tissues by forming rounded protrusions called blebs. However, the exact mechanism behind this expansion remained unclear. Now, researchers at Kyushu University have discovered that cancer cells use protein clusters to create water pressure inside blebs, which pushes the cell membrane outward, enabling rapid movement. This newly identified mechanism, named “CaMKII-based osmotically-driven deformation or CODE,” reveals a unique physical process that drives the spread of cancer cells inside the body.

A research team from the Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics (WNLO) and the School of Optical and Electronic Information at Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST) has reported a new advancement in all-perovskite tandem solar cells. By utilizing quantitative Silvaco TCAD simulations, the team has elucidated the fundamental physics of the tunnel junction, providing a definitive design rule to overcome efficiency bottlenecks in all-perovskite tandem solar cells.

Iron-based molecular sieves show great promise for high-temperature NH₃-SCR due to their intrinsic shape selectivity and thermal stability. However, excessive ammonia oxidation at high temperatures limits NO_x conversion and long-term stability, and its kinetic transition remains poorly understood. A team led by Zhiqiang Sun, Hanzi Liu, and Xinlin Xie has developed a high-temperature Fe@ZSM-5 catalyst and established a coupled kinetic model to describe ammonia oxidation behavior at high temperatures. Their work was published in the journal Industrial Chemistry & Materials in December 2025.

The widespread use of non-biodegradable plastics, manufactured from petroleum-derived polymers, represents one of the greatest environmental challenges of our time, as it contributes significantly to pollution and the degradation of ecosystems. In response to this scenario, an innovative and sustainable alternative has emerged: PEF (polyethylene furanoate), a renewable polyester obtained from plant biomass

Ultraviolet and near-infrared light are widely used in modern technologies but are invisible to the human eye. Researchers from Japan have developed an organic crystal that converts these invisible wavelengths into visible red and green light. Remarkably, the two colors arise from different physical processes coexisting within a single crystal. This dual-mode optical response provides a better understanding of molecular design and crystal packing, opening new possibilities for optical sensing and photonic technologies.

Three-dimensional cancer organoids and spheroids are powerful models for studying tumor biology, but current imaging methods limit their full potential. In this study, researchers introduce an AI-enhanced optical coherence photoacoustic microscopy (OC-PAM) system that enables high-resolution, label-free, and longitudinal imaging of 3D cancer models. The technology promises more physiologically relevant cancer research and accelerated translation of advanced in vitro models into drug discovery and precision oncology.

Fundamental breakthroughs in the natural sciences are rare. Progress is usually made in small steps, with knowledge slowly accumulating as more pieces of the puzzle fall into place. Now, however, chemists at Saarland University have made a major breakthrough: they have synthesized a stable molecule that chemists worldwide have been seeking – unsuccessfully – for decades. Their discovery has now been published in Science.