A research team from Saitama University and Taisei Corporation has experimentally clarified how deformation-accommodating tunnel support systems behave under isotropic stress conditions that simulate squeezing ground. Using 1/20-scale laboratory tunnel support models, the team showed that yielding elements can absorb large tunnel deformations and that their installation position influences the deformation pattern of the entire support system.

Researchers from Kochi University of Technology and Nagoya University have developed a self-adaptive copper–cobalt catalyst that efficiently converts nitrate contaminants into ammonia under ambient conditions. By combining advanced operando and quasi-operando spectroscopic analyses with density functional theory calculations, the team discovered that the catalyst dynamically reconstructs during electrochemical nitrate reduction to form hydroxyl-rich Cu–OH active sites. Amorphous cobalt oxide supplies reactive hydrogen via hydrogen spillover, enabling highly efficient ammonia synthesis. The catalyst achieved an ammonia production rate of 54.68 mg h⁻¹ mgcat⁻¹ with a Faradaic efficiency of 95.4% at −0.2 V versus the reversible hydrogen electrode and maintained stable performance for more than 60 hours in a flow cell. The work establishes adaptive catalyst reconstruction as a new design principle for sustainable electrocatalysis.

- A research team led by Professor Jaewook Myung from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering identifies how algal blooms may hasten microplastic formation

- First study to elucidate the interaction between algal blooms and plastic pollution — points to a new direction for integrated environmental management in the era of climate change

A University of Texas at Dallas researcher has received more than $1 million in grants from the Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) to develop treatments for solitary fibrous tumor, or SFT. The rare cancer develops when two genes, NAB2 and STAT6, become fused together, resulting in signals that initiate cancer-cell growth. The cause is unknown. While no medications have been developed specifically for SFT, treatment typically involves surgery to remove the tumor and/or radiation.

A basic property of hydrated metal ions may offer a faster and more practical way to estimate how readily trace elements move from contaminated soils into plants, according to a new study published in New Contaminants.