Astronomers combined data from two major gamma-ray observatories with further multi-wavelength information to reveal a “nascent outflow” from the most massive young star cluster in the Milky Way, Westerlund 1.

The observations indicate that charged particles – “cosmic rays” – are accelerated in the vicinity of the star cluster and subsequently transported along the outflow.

The nascent outflow is expected to eventually develop into a channel for the transport of cosmic rays into the Galactic halo – a process widely assumed of great importance for galaxy evolution, but with scarce observational support so far.

Researchers have discovered that not all atoms in a liquid are in motion and that some remain stationary regardless of the temperature, significantly impacting the solidification process, including the formation of an unusual state of matter—a corralled supercooled liquid.  

Helical pulses, shaped like flying electromagnetic conches, long predicted but never directly observed, have now been experimentally realized in both optical and microwave bands. The work shows that light can twist through space and time within a single cycle, forming truly space time nonseparable wave packets. This breakthrough confirms a decades old theoretical prediction and opens new paths for ultrafast communication, topological field control, and advanced imaging.

Listening to the "whispers" of electrons and crystals has lead to a quantum discovery with terahertz light that could help us advance technological innovations and life science research.

Researchers have developed new means of recycling a common pollutant associated with groundwater and agricultural runoff: nitrate.  By developing an electrocatalyst that turns nitrate into ammonia, they have also helped make ammonia production more greener.

Researchers and students from Okayama University of Science (OUS) and Mapúa University (MU) in the Philippines held their third joint colloquium, the “International Seminar on Sustainable Materials, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering,” as the opening event of MU’s International Month. More than 400 participants joined the hybrid event, which featured invited talks, student presentations, and award-winning posters, as well as campus visits, museum tours, and a student-led English–Japanese Café. The program is deepening research collaboration and inspiring future graduate study at OUS, marking a new phase of academic exchange between the two universities.

A team led by Pei-Yi Wu and Sheng-Tong Sun at Donghua University reported a strong hydrogel fiber material with water-induced adhesion properties that resolves the structural contradiction of simultaneously achieving mechanical strength and self-adhesion. The fiber exhibits reversible humidity-responsive characteristics, maintaining high strength in a dry state and rapidly transforming into a highly adhesive state upon contact with water. This water-activated self-adhesive behavior is completely reversible, providing new insights for the design of high-performance adhesive materials in fields such as intelligent capture and micro-soft robots. The article was was recently published as an open access research article in CCS Chemistry, the flagship journal of the Chinese Chemical Society.