Quantum mechanics is extremely successful at describing the behavior of matter at the atomic level. This success forces one to accept that certain aspects belong to physical reality that go far beyond our intuition and that are therefore very difficult to understand. Among these, none is more intriguing than the concept of quantum entanglement, which mathematically describes how two particles that have at some point in the past interacted with each other retain a memory of this interaction to such an extent that acting on one of the two particles has a measurable influence on the properties of the other particle, even if the two have long ago stopped interacting and may be separated so far away from each other that communication between them is no longer possible.

A research team led by Prof. SUN Jian from the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has proposed a hydroxyl-induced cobalt oxide catalytic strategy that enables the efficient conversion of syngas to light olefins through Fischer–Tropsch synthesis.

Large-scale quantum computers will need far more than better qubits—they will need a practical way to control and read them without overwhelming the refrigerator with wires.

At AACR 2026, Insilico will unveil four novel cancer inhibitors discovered via its end-to-end Pharma.AI platform. By harnessing trillions of data points and millions of molecular fragments, the platform integrates generative biology for target discovery with generative chemistry for de novo molecular design, accelerating the path from data to drug candidates.

A University of Manchester Professor has been appointed by  Lord Vallance, Minister of State for Science, Innovation, Research and Nuclear, as an Expert Reviewer for an independent assessment of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA);  an executive non-departmental public body that is charged with, on behalf of government, the mission to clean-up the UK’s earliest nuclear sites safely, securely and cost effectively.

Gravitational waves could be responsible for the production of dark matter during the early phases of our universe’s formation, according to results of a new study by Professor Joachim Kopp from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) and the PRISMA⁺⁺ Cluster of Excellence in cooperation with Dr. Azadeh Maleknejad from Swansea University. Their work, published in Physical Review Letters, presents new calculations that explore a novel mechanism for the formation of dark matter through so-called stochastic gravitational waves

Atomic clocks based on entangled atoms can reach extremely high precision but usually suffer from a limited measurement range. Researchers have proposed a new adaptive Bayesian protocol that dynamically adjusts measurement time using prior information. This approach allows GHZ-state atomic clocks to maintain Heisenberg-limited precision while significantly expanding their dynamic range. Simulations show improved accuracy, faster convergence, and stronger resistance to noise. The method offers a powerful framework for next-generation atomic clocks and other quantum sensors requiring both high precision and broad measurement capability.

Many people have likely found themselves watching oddly satisfying videos of random objects being squashed by a powerful hydraulic press, but rarely people consider why things squash the way they do.

Porous materials are widely used for gas storage, separation, catalysis, and environmental purification. Their functionality arises from nanoscale pores that allow molecules to be selectively captured or transported. However, most porous materials, such as metal-organic frameworks, rely on rigid three-dimensional networks formed by strong chemical bonds, which often make them mechanically brittle and difficult to process into practical shapes.

A research team led by Professor Shuhei Furukawa at the Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences (WPI-iCeMS), Kyoto University, has developed a new type of microporous aerogel that overcomes these limitations. Their study demonstrates a strategy to assemble metal–organic polyhedra (MOPs) into hierarchically ordered one-dimensional porous fibrils using weak van der Waals interactions.

Unlike conventional porous frameworks constructed through strong chemical bonds, the newly developed fibrils are held together by reversible van der Waals interactions between MOP molecules. Thanks to the weak nature of these interactions, the molecular assemblies can reversibly associate and dissociate with minimal energy input, exhibiting thixotropic behavior. This feature allows the material to be easily shaped using molds, providing a high degree of processability that is rarely achieved in conventional microporous materials.