An international team of scientists led by researchers from Germany has observed the earliest steps of charge separation in a complex dye molecule. As the researchers report in the journal Nature Chemistry, high-frequency vibrations of atomic nuclei within the molecule play a central role in this light-induced charge transfer. Their experiments showed that the forces that these vibrations exert on electrons initiate charge transport, whereas processes in the surrounding solvent, which were previously assumed to initiate charge transfer, begin only at a later stage.

Usually, light is scattered off a sample and then turned into a picture. A new kind of microscope places the sample between two mirrors, so that the same light interacts with the sample multiple times. That way, a better picture can be created with a given amount of light.

A new model describes the result of non-reciprocal interactions between two species of molecules if they are reversed and thus non-linear

This non-linearity results in a dynamic and chaotic system, in which run-and-chase dynamics and phase separation co-exist at the same time

The model resembles the complexity of living matter in a more accurate way and thus contributes to the understanding of how living matter organizes

A facile and efficient method is developed for controllable fabrication of biocompatible microhelices with designable microstructures and sufficient mechanical strengths based on the liquid rope coiling effect due to the phase viscosity differences without crosslinking reaction or phase transition. The prepared PEGDA@Fe₃O₄ microhelices exhibit excellent helical motion abilities in the microtubes, showing great potential for biomedical applications.

A research team led by Prof. YANG Yuanhe from the Institute of Botany of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has shown how microbes can stabilize soil carbon and potentially weaken the climate risk.

Astronomers from Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, have discovered a vast and expanding bubble of gas and dust surrounding a red supergiant star – the largest structure of its kind ever seen in the Milky Way. The bubble, which contains as much mass as the Sun, was blown out in a mysterious stellar eruption around 4000 years ago. Why the star survived such a powerful event is a puzzle, the scientists say.

The new results are published in the scientific journal Astronomy and Astrophysics, and the team was led by Mark Siebert, Chalmers, Sweden. Using the ALMA radio telescope in Chile, the researchers observed the star DFK 52 – a red supergiant similar to the well-known star Betelgeuse.

Most currently used fuel cells can only operate efficiently above 500°C, but researchers found a way to essentially cut that number in half.