In Biophysics Reviews, researchers develop a physics-based model for explaining performance gaps and providing actionable guidance for competitive lateral flow assays — test strips in which the presence or lack of a pink line indicates whether a specific molecule, like a drug or a virus, has been detected. They applied their guidance to improve commercially available fentanyl test strips, optimizing the relationship and developing fentanyl test strips that are about 100 times more sensitive than their commercial counterparts.

Self-driving laboratories (SDLs) powered by artificial intelligence (AI) are rapidly accelerating materials discovery, but can they also explain their results? Researchers from the Theory Department of the Fritz Haber Insitute, in collaboration with BASF, and BasCat – UniCat BASF JointLab, show that they can. Their new AI-driven strategy works hand-in-hand with SDLs to identify better catalysts while revealing the chemistry behind their performance. The approach was validated on the industrially crucial conversion of propane into propylene.

A multi-strategy framework for the sustainable development of polymeric materials is proposed, and it encompasses the use of bio-based and CO₂-derived feedstocks, recycling of existing polymer wastes, and design of next-generation sustainable polymers.

Embargoed until 14:00 CET Tuesday March 24, 2026: An international team of astronomers have made the groundbreaking discovery of a second planet in the same system where they discovered another planet last year.

Detected at an early stage of formation in the disc around a young star, the young planet named WISPIT 2c is estimated to be about 5 million years-old and most likely ten times the mass of Jupiter.

The star, WISPIT 2 is located in the constellation of the Eagle, a prominent equatorial constellation visible in the summer northern hemisphere (July-November) along the Milky Way.

The study was led by PhD student, Chloe Lawlor from the Centre for Astronomy at the University of Galway, in collaboration with PhD student Richelle van Capelleveen, Leiden Observatory, Netherlands and postdoctoral researcher Guillaume Bourdarot, Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Garching, Germany.

Tsinghua University Press has launched Health Engineering, a new international open-access journal designed to unite engineering, biotechnology, and medical science in addressing some of the most pressing global health challenges. The journal aims to accelerate research that applies engineering principles to improve health outcomes, enable earlier disease intervention, and support the transition from treatment-focused medicine toward proactive health management.

Penn Engineers have redesigned a key component of lipid nanoparticles (LNPs), the delivery vehicles used in mRNA vaccines, to steer mRNA toward lymph nodes while reducing off-target accumulation in the liver. The modified “aroLNPs” delivered at least tenfold less mRNA to the liver than the lipid used in the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, while preserving strong immune responses. The advance could enable more precise, lower-dose vaccines and expand the potential of mRNA therapies for cancer and autoimmune disease.

Future lunar missions may rely on a fibre-optic cables to assess vital sub-surface structures. Researchers at ETH Zurich are investigating whether lightweight optical fibres – like those used for internet communication on Earth – could be deployed on the Moon to detect seismic activity and reveal its interior structures.

We consider multiple quantum NMR dynamics in two-spin system interfered by weak coupling with the surrounding providing relaxation. The exact theory was developed using the Lindblad equation. The results were validated experimentally using a single crystal of hambergite in two specific orientations in magnetic field, providing two different coupling strengths between spins and environment. Results show that coherent "dance" require both strong intrapair coupling as well as weak environmental coupling.