Efficient amide bond synthesis is essential for biology, medicine and materials chemistry. However, conventional approaches often require expensive or harsh reagents. In a new study, researchers demonstrated that dichloromethane, a widely used solvent, can serve as an effective coupling reagent for direct synthesis of amides from carboxylic acids and amines. The approach has broad scope, produces relatively benign byproducts, and is practical for scale-up, offering a potentially simpler strategy for amide synthesis.

ICFO researchers have applied a spin rephasing mechanism to store quantum light in a solid-state quantum memory. The work, published in Physical Review Letters, achieves the longest storage time to date for single photons in this kind of memory, marking a significant enabling step towards the quantum internet.

Researchers have developed a laser-assisted method that rapidly detects tiny amounts of CEACAM-5, a colorectal cancer biomarker, in blood. The technique enhances antibody–antigen interactions and achieves detection even at low concentrations within minutes. The researchers also identified nanoscale CEACAM-5 aggregates that may enhance the method’s sensitivity.

Twistronics has become a new alchemy of materials. By choosing atomically thin layers, stacking them and changing their relative angle, researchers can create electronic behavior absent from the original ingredients.

Now, in two back-to-back papers publishing in Science on September 24, an international collaboration provides both the building blocks and a guide to that vast search. The first maps the electronic structures and topology of nearly 9,000 two-dimensional entries, whether topological or not. The second identifies more than 1,600 candidates for twisting, with different electronic starting points that could enable entirely new kinds of quantum simulators.

“Every new family of twisted materials gives us a chance to ask a different question about quantum matter. We want to move beyond the few platforms we know and explore the enormous range of physics that other layers and other twists could make possible,” said B. Andrei Bernevig, a Princeton professor of physics and coauthor of both studies.

Sharks can hear – and react to – underwater sounds from nearly 250 feet away, according to a new study that provides the first quantified evidence of long-distance sound detection in free-swimming sharks. Researchers found that blacktip sharks rapidly changed course when they detected low-frequency sounds, revealing that they not only hear distant sounds but also determine where they are coming from. The findings also show sharks are more sensitive to lower-frequency sounds, providing new insight into how these ancient predators sense their underwater world.