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Chemistry & Physics

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 26-Oct-2026 18:17 ET (26-Oct-2026 22:17 GMT/UTC)

A secret weapon against superbugs

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Using a small molecule first synthesized by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory’s Moses lab, researchers have restored the effectiveness of the last-resort antibiotic vancomycin against drug-resistant bacteria. By restoring the power of existing medications, the findings suggest that fundamental chemistry may be our most promising weapon against the growing threat of antibiotic resistance.

Journal: Nature Communications
Funder: Australian Research Council, Empire State Development, F. M. Kirby Foundation, Starr Foundation

Research success in the search for new reserve antibiotics

Otto-von-Guericke-Universität Magdeburg
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Chemists from Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg have achieved an important research success in the fight against resistant bacteria - the team led by scientist Professor Dr. Dieter Schinzer from the Institute of Chemistry have succeeded for the first time in producing key building blocks of the naturally occurring Neosorangicin A in the laboratory. This means that it is now possible to develop Neosorangicin A in a targeted manner as a highly promising reserve antibiotic candidate with a view to combating antibiotic resistance in future.

Journal: Chemistry - A European Journal
Funder: Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space, European Fund for Regional Development

New membrane could make green hydrogen cheaper, tougher and easier to scale

Science China Press
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers at Westlake University have developed a new anion exchange membrane for water electrolysis that combines long-term chemical stability with easier large-scale manufacturing. The material reduces reliance on corrosive superacids during synthesis and performs efficiently in both lab-scale devices and kilowatt-scale hydrogen-producing stacks.

Journal: Science Bulletin

Nanoreactor mimics living cells for enhanced artificial photosynthesis

Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy Sciences
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new study led by the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has engineered a hollow CdS@polydopamine nanoreactor that integrates two biomimetic features, providing a new strategy for mimicking thefunctions of living cells in synthetic nanomaterials.

Journal: Journal of the American Chemical Society

Geometry-driven spectral encoding by maximizing distinguishability in encoding space

Chinese Society for Optical Engineering
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Spectral imaging allows materials to be identified without contact, but compact systems often struggle to preserve enough information for accurate reconstruction. Researchers from Zhejiang Normal University, Zhejiang University, and Westlake University have introduced a geometry-driven spectral encoding strategy based on the Euclidean Distance of Encoding space (EDE). Instead of optimizing only the statistical properties of an encoding matrix, EDE directly maximizes the separation between encoded spectral responses in measurement space. The team combined genetic algorithms, automatic differentiation, and transfer-matrix modeling to design manufacturable TiO₂/SiO₂ multilayer thin-film encoders. The resulting system improves reconstruction performance over random, correlation-optimized, and coherence-optimized benchmarks, and enables high-fidelity spectral recovery across the visible to short-wave infrared range. The work establishes a new geometric design paradigm for compact, intelligent computational optical systems.

Journal: PhotoniX
Funder: National Natural Science Foundation of China, National Key Research and Development Program of China

Advance could enable enzymatic reactions for chemical manufacturing beyond the boiling point of water

Wiley
Peer-Reviewed Publication

In new research published in Angewandte Chemie Novit, investigators found that a porous organic polymer can be used to encapsulate a lipase (a type of enzyme) and create a protective molecular cage that prevents enzyme denaturation, enabling efficient and recyclable reactions with high-melting solids at and above 100°C.

Arctic ozone soars in 2024 due to series of extraordinary atmospheric events

Ocean-Land-Atmosphere Research (OLAR)
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A recent study uncovers the most comprehensive explanation to date for the unprecedented Arctic ozone event of March 2024, revealing new insights into the complex connections between tropical variability, atmospheric wave dynamics and polar ozone in a warming world.

Journal: Ocean-Land-Atmosphere Research

AI and quantum chemistry identify efficient blue OLED materials

Nagoya University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) have become a standard in modern devices with incredible contrast and sleek designs. While initially an expensive luxury, OLEDs are gradually becoming more financially accessible as the technology improves. Now, researchers at the Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules (WPI-ITbM) at Nagoya University and the Institute for Advanced Study at Kyushu University have combined quantum chemistry with machine learning to identify new materials for blue OLEDs to incorporate in next-generation ultra-high-definition displays. Their research was published in Angewandte Chemie International Edition on July 21, 2026.

Journal: Angewandte Chemie International Edition
Funder: Japan Science and Technology Agency, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Japan Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Research Center for Computational Science

Researchers expand simulation tool to help design the next generation of photonic and quantum devices

Singapore University of Technology and Design
Peer-Reviewed Publication

New framework enables researchers to model how light and electrons interact in metals, semiconductors and two-dimensional materials, paving the way for faster development of advanced chips, optical technologies and quantum devices.

Journal: Computer Physics Communications