A new theoretical study shows that the scientific payoff of future neutron-star radius measurements may be highly nonlinear: improving the uncertainty from 1.0 km to 0.5 km yields only modest gains, but pushing it to 0.2 km sharply narrows the allowed behavior of dense matter. The results suggest that next-generation X-ray and gravitational-wave observations could decisively improve constraints on how matter behaves deep inside neutron stars.

A UCLA-led international research collaboration unveiled a new technology that may help scientists better understand how small molecules, including many drugs, bind to proteins. The invention works with an existing lab method called photo-crosslinking. Leaving behind a clean, uniform chemical signature, the technology allowed the team to directly compare how different molecules compete for the same binding site on a protein, all in a single experiment. Because most small-molecule drugs act by binding to specific protein targets, finding precisely where these molecules bind is a major benefit for drug discovery.

A new Harvard study describes a way to process natural rubber that preserves its long molecular chains while mixing in strength-endowing particles.

A Harvard team built a chip-scale lithium niobate UV light source that generates 120 times more power than previous approaches, paving the way for practical uses.

Harvard researchers built a swarm of simple ant-like robots (RAnts) that can collectively excavate and construct structures without central control. Their experiments show that adaptive group behavior can emerge from the interaction between many simple agents and their environment, with potential applications in many fields. 

This discovery advances the decade-long debate on the physics of disorder and opens the way to new applications, from electronics to pharmaceuticals. The research work was carried out by the Department of Physics in collaboration with other European research institutions and published in Physical Review X

In APL Bioengineering, researchers designed a force-sensing miniature robot, called a mobile microgripper, to handle cell spheroids with care. The MMG resembles the gripping part of the claw toy, made of two arms connected by a hinge for a controlled — and gentle — gripping. It’s controlled by magnets, which are biocompatible with spheroids, decreasing the risk of collateral damage, and the gripping force is monitored and adjusted in real time, allowing researchers to adapt to the delicate nature of the cells.

While hearing loss is preventable with earplugs, they can be uncomfortable, and users often remove them despite the risks. In the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, researchers advance the state of “meta-earplugs” by using Helmholtz resonators to tune sound waves in the ear canal. The earplugs have multiple resonators, each tuned to a different frequency, which helps target a range of low-frequency sounds and relieves acoustic pressure without relying on electronics.