Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology (KICT, President Park, Sun-Kyu) has developed a new cubic equation of state (EOS) that provides a physical justification for a mathematical structure that the chemical and petroleum industries have relied on for more than half a century without a first-principles explanation.

Researchers are exploring what is known as DNA’s physical code – the molecule’s physical properties, which may influence how cells use the genetic information encoded within DNA. An international team of researchers, including Dr Daiva Petkevičiūtė-Gerlach from Kaunas University of Technology (KTU), investigated this code on an unprecedented scale by performing atomistic simulations and analyses of the shape, flexibility, and dynamics of a large set of DNA sequences.

Instead of being discarded after seawater desalination, concentrated brine can gain a second life as a chemical feedstock. Researchers have developed a solar-driven offshore continuous-flow platform that couples freshwater production with selective methane conversion by directly reusing desalination brine as the chlorine source. The integrated system simultaneously produces freshwater and chloromethane, offering a strategy for the in situ utilization of offshore natural gas resources and introducing a new approach to solar-driven offshore chemical manufacturing.

Edo-period “Ogame” (“large jars”) became increasingly standardized over time, developing distinct shapes for everyday and burial use, reports a new archeological study from Institute of Science Tokyo, Japan. Using AI-assisted techniques and geometric morphometrics, the researcher analyzed 243 historic vessels to quantitatively track these changes. The findings provide the first quantitative evidence that major Edo-period historical events influenced not only expensive porcelains production but also everyday ceramics, offering new insights into early modern Japanese society.

Osaka Metropolitan University researchers have demonstrated that a coconut-derived biofuel produced from off-grade coconuts can be used in aviation gas turbine engines. Combustion tests showed thermal efficiency comparable to conventional Jet A-1 fuel, highlighting the biofuel’s potential as a sustainable aviation fuel alternative.