The molecular world of bitter compounds has so far only been partially explored. Researchers at the Leibniz Institute for Food Systems Biology at the Technical University of Munich in Freising and the Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry in Halle (Saale) have now isolated three new bitter compounds from the mushroom Amaropostia stiptica and investigated their effect on human bitter taste receptors. In doing so, they discovered one of the potentially most bitter substances known to date. The study results expand our knowledge of natural bitter compounds and their receptors, thus making an important contribution to food and health research.

Koun Shirai from The University of Osaka gives an answer to a long-standing question in theoretical glass physics: what does it mean to be an order parameter for an inherently out-of-equilibrium system? Starting from first principles, Shirai reexamines what it means to be in equilibrium and arrives at the conclusion that order parameters of glass are merely time-averaged positions of atoms. 

Researchers developed a computational model to optimize melt crystallization—a low-energy method for producing ultra-pure dimethyl carbonate (DMC). The study reveals how natural convection shapes crystal layer and proposes heating strategies to improve efficiency, offering industry a sustainable path to high-purity materials.

The article utilizes the friction electromagnetic induction coupling mechanism to design a single fiber based Fibre-WBAN it converts the mechanical energy generated by the human body movement into electrical signals and uses the fiber coils to convert the low-frequency time-domain signals into high-frequency frequency-domain signals (40 MHz) for wireless data transmission.

Researchers from the University of Science and Technology of China and the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics innovatively introduced the Frontier Molecular Orbital (FMO) theory into the design of heterogeneous SACs. They achieved the first successful application of the FMO theory in heterogeneous catalysis and obtained a highly active and stable SAC for hydrogenation reactions.