Professor Ariando and Dr Stephen Lin Er Chow from the National University of Singapore (NUS) Department of Physics have designed and synthesised a groundbreaking new material—a copper-free superconducting oxide—capable of superconducting at approximately 40 Kelvin (K), or about minus 233 degrees Celsius (deg C), under ambient pressure. This discovery further advances NUS’ and Singapore’s leadership at the forefront of high-temperature superconductivity research.

Quasi-particles are collective quantum elements of condensed matter. They are foundationally important for understanding physics of materials and for technological applications of semiconductors. Using ultrafast optical pump-probe technique, scientists discovered a series of new spectral features that are not attributable to existing quasi-particles. By using advanced quantum many-body theories, these spectral features could be uniquely explained by the existence of a new quasi-particle called quadruplon, a genuine four-body composite particle, different from the known bi-exciton.

A novel ‘zeolite blending’ method has successfully produced CON-type zeolites with unprecedentedly high aluminum content, report researchers from Institute of Science Tokyo. By combining multiple zeolite precursors to guide the synthesis process, this innovative strategy overcomes long-standing limitations in controlling aluminum content in zeolite frameworks. The proposed approach will open new possibilities for catalyst development across various industrial applications, including petrochemical processing, fine chemicals production, and environmental remediation.

Seoul National University College of Engineering announced that Professor Yousung Jung’s research team in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering has successfully developed a technology that utilizes Large Language Models (LLMs) to predict the synthesizability of novel materials and interpret the basis for such predictions. This study was conducted in collaboration with Fordham University in the United States. The findings of this research are expected to contribute to the novel material design process by filtering out material candidates with low synthesizability in advance or optimizing previously challenging-to-synthesize materials into more feasible forms. The study, with Postdoctoral Researcher Seongmin Kim as the first author, was published in two renowned international chemistry journals: the Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS) on July 11, 2024, and Angewandte Chemie International Edition on February 13, 2025.

A group of researchers including scientists of the Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI) at Institute of Science Tokyo have uncovered a surprising role for calcium in shaping the building blocks of life. Their study reveals that calcium ions help determine the molecular "handedness" (chirality) of tartaric acid polymers—an essential feature of biological molecules like DNA and proteins. This discovery sheds light on how life's uniform molecular structures may have first emerged on early Earth. In a twist on traditional theories, the researchers suggest that simple polyesters, in addition to peptides or nucleic acids, could have adopted this crucial trait on early Earth, offering a fresh perspective on life’s chemical origins.

The High Energy Photon Source (HEPS), China’s flagship synchrotron radiation facility, has officially begun its joint-commissioning phase after successfully completing photon beam commissioning, the Institute of High Energy Physics (IHEP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, which developed the facility, announced on March 27 in Beijing.

A research team led by Prof. WEN Liping from the Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has developed a biomimetic adsorbent that can attract and hold uranium ions. The inspiration for this adsorbent is the natural porous structure of the spiky, globular fruit of the Chinese sweet gum tree, Liquidambar formosana.