A South Korean research team has developed an eco-friendly ammonia synthesis process that significantly reduces carbon emissions through innovative separation membrane technology. The Korea Institute of Energy Research (KIER) found that a palladium membrane selectively transports hydrogen ions in water across the membrane and subsequently demonstrated the practical feasibility of this mechanism through application to the ammonia synthesis process.

Circularly polarized light (CPL) carries spin angular momentum information and holds great promise for magnetic recording, spin optical communication, biological sensing and quantum computation. Conventional CPL detectors rely heavily on bulky and complex external optical components, which restrict device integration and miniaturization. Chiral organic semiconductors possessing an intrinsic capability for direct CPL discrimination, have emerged as promising candidates for CPL detectors. However, their development faces an intrinsic trade-off between charge carrier mobility and absorption dissymmetry factor.

Encouragingly, tremendous efforts have been devoted to resolving this contradiction, contributing to the development of a series of high-performance chiral organic semiconductors and thereby CPL detectors. Now, writing in Science Bulletin, researchers at the Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, systematically review representative progress of chiral organic semiconductors with a particular emphasis on the planarity-helicity dilemma and spectral tailoring. The review further highlights advances in CPL detectors and emerging applications, and discusses key challenges and future opportunities toward high-performance, miniaturized, and integrated CPL detection technologies.

A new artificial intelligence (AI) framework that combines ultrasound (US) with digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) may improve breast-level risk classification by raising specificity while preserving sensitivity. 

A candid debate on AI in research, a warning about quantum-era data security and the Forum's first participant-driven "Un-Conference" defined a week that brought 21 laureates together with 200 young researchers from more than 50 countries

While gut bacteria clearly influence host health, determining whether they or their metabolic byproducts alone contribute to longevity remains challenging. A recent study using gnotobiotic flies colonized with genetically engineered Escherichia coli demonstrated that bacterial polyamines directly extend host lifespan. By clearly separating metabolite effects from bacterial presence, these findings highlight gut-derived polyamines as a tangible, promising target for future life-extending strategies for healthy longevity.

Electronic materials can change their behavior when molecules interact with surrounding ions, but controlling these effects remains challenging. Now, researchers from Ritsumeikan University, Japan, have developed π-electronic cations whose molecular shape and electronic properties are controlled by counteranions. The ion-dependent changes modulate photoinduced electron transfer, pressure-responsive photophysical behavior, and solid-state assembly, offering design principles for smart materials, molecular switches, sensors, and tunable charge-transport technologies. These findings could accelerate development of next-generation responsive electronic devices.

Researchers at the Research Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics (MANA), one of the centers under the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), Japan, discovered that atomic-scale steps can guide superconducting vortices in an ultrathin superconductor. Vortices moved more than 1,000 times more easily along the steps than across them, and this guiding effect could be tuned by temperature and magnetic field.

A multicenter study of 2,746 patients with acute pancreatitis (AP) introduces ORACLE, an artificial intelligence model that predicts organ failure from CT imaging. The model achieved AUCs of 0.81–0.89, outperforming conventional scoring systems, and provided a median early warning of 3.5 hours before clinical onset. Its 97.2% negative predictive value may help clinicians stratify risk.A multicenter study of 2,746 patients with acute pancreatitis (AP) introduces ORACLE, an artificial intelligence model that predicts organ failure from CT imaging. The model achieved AUCs of 0.81–0.89, outperforming conventional scoring systems, and provided a median early warning of 3.5 hours before clinical onset. Its 97.2% negative predictive value may help clinicians stratify risk.