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Category: chemistry

Optical control of nuclear spins in molecules points to new paths for quantum technologies

Researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have reported important progress in quantum physics and materials science by optically initializing, controlling, and reading out nuclear spin states in a molecular material for the first time. Because of their weak interaction with the environment, nuclear spins are particularly stable quantum information carriers. The research, published in Nature Materials, shows that molecular nuclear spins could be a promising building block for future quantum technologies.

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is an established method for analyzing materials and molecules, with applications ranging from chemical analysis to quantum information processing. For a new paper, KIT researchers analyzed a molecular crystal containing europium ions. Such ions have especially narrow optical transitions that allow direct addressing of nuclear spin states. Using laser light, they were able to initialize nuclear spins in defined states and then read out those states.

In addition to optical addressing, the researchers used high-frequency fields to control the spins and protect them from interfering environmental influences. They achieved nuclear spin quantum coherence with a lifetime of up to two milliseconds, an interval during which a quantum system maintains a precisely defined quantum mechanical state.

Leather gets a power upgrade with laser-written microsupercapacitors

Researchers have developed a simple and eco-friendly way to use a laser to turn natural leather into flexible and wearable energy devices. The new approach could lay the groundwork for more sustainable wearable electronics. In a paper in Optics Letters, the researchers demonstrate the new technique by creating microsupercapacitors on leather in various patterns, including a tiger, dragon and rabbit.

“Using a laser, we directly write conductive patterns onto vegetable-tanned leather to create microsupercapacitors that can store energy and help smooth electrical signals so that wearable electronics run more reliably,” said the research team leader Dong-Dong Han from Jilin University in China.

Unlike conventional devices that rely on synthetic materials and complex, chemical-heavy processes, our approach uses a natural, skin-friendly material and a one-step fabrication method. The microsupercapacitors are well-suited for flexible and comfortable wearable electronics because they are built on soft materials and can be shaped freely and integrated directly into products.

A greener route to citrus-derived therapeutics: What a new bromination method changes

Undergraduate students at Penn State Brandywine developed an environmentally friendly and easy method to synthesize compounds from plant-derived molecules for potential use in therapeutics. Their work, conducted under the supervision of Penn State Brandywine Assistant Professor of Chemistry Anna Sigmon, was published in a special issue of the journal ACS Omega titled “Undergraduate Research as the Stimulus for Scientific Progress in the U.S.”

Co-author Maria Englert, who graduated from Penn State in 2025, became involved with Sigmon’s research on the recommendation of another mentor and said she learned far more than she expected.

“The more we worked through the reactions and discussed methodologies with each other, the more chemistry felt like an art form—something that requires creativity, intuition and a tenacious approach to problem-solving,” she said. “This experience taught me that progress in research is shaped by collaboration, careful observation and a willingness to rethink your approach.”

New hydrogen fuel cell design could unlock key clean energy technology

UNSW researchers have redesigned hydrogen fuel cells to solve a critical flaw, bringing clean energy for aviation, heavy transport and beyond closer to reality. Hydrogen fuel cells, using locally produced green hydrogen as the only fuel, have long been viewed as the ultimate clean energy source, but their commercialization has been difficult.

A multidisciplinary team from UNSW, led by Dr. Quentin Meyer and Professor Chuan Zhao from the School of Chemistry, has managed to make hydrogen fuel cells much more efficient, paving the way for their commercialization.

“Hydrogen fuel cells generate clean electricity with water as the only byproduct,” says Dr. Quentin Meyer, a Senior Research Fellow in Prof. Zhao’s team, and first author of the research published in the journal Applied Catalysis B: Environment and Energy.

Cellular reprogramming beyond pluripotency

Aging, once viewed as an irreversible process, is now considered a modifiable process. Recent advances in cellular reprogramming reveal that transient expression of reprogramming factors can reverse molecular hallmarks of aging while preserving somatic cell identity. This ‘partial reprogramming’ rejuvenates tissues, restores regenerative capacity, and, in some models, extends lifespan without the tumorigenic risks of full dedifferentiation. In this review, we summarize genetic and chemical strategies for partial reprogramming, discuss their tissue-specific effects in vivo, and evaluate their implications for tissue regeneration and age-related disease. We further examine key challenges for clinical translation, including safety, delivery strategies, and temporal control of reprogramming.

Astronomers discover Andromeda XXXVI, an ultra-faint dwarf satellite galaxy

By analyzing the data from the Pan-Andromeda Archaeological Survey (PandAS), European astronomers have discovered a new satellite of the Andromeda galaxy. The newfound object, which received the designation Andromeda XXXVI, appears to be an ultra-faint dwarf galaxy. The finding is reported in a paper published March 30 on the arXiv preprint server.

The so-called ultra-faint dwarf galaxies (UFDs) are the least luminous, most dark matter-dominated, and least chemically evolved galaxies known. Therefore, they are perceived by astronomers as the best candidate fossils from the universe at its early stages.

Now, a team of astronomers, led by Joanna D. Sakowska of the Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia in Spain, reports the finding of a new UFD. Andromeda XXXVI was first spotted and classified as a candidate UFD by amateur astronomer Giuseppe Donatiello during a systematic, visual inspection search of public images from the full PAndAS footprint. Sakowska and her colleagues recently performed follow-up deep imaging of Andromeda XXXVI with the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory, which confirmed the UFD nature of this galaxy.

Light-driven method enables sustainable production of porous semiconducting polymers

Researchers at Koç University have developed a light-driven method to produce porous semiconducting polymers under ambient conditions without the need for metal catalysts. The study, led by Prof. Dr. Önder Metin from the Department of Chemistry, in collaboration with Dr. Melek Sermin Özer, Dr. Zafer Eroğlu, and Prof. Dr. Sermet Koyuncu, was published in Nature Communications.

Porous semiconducting organic polymers have attracted growing attention due to their high thermal and chemical stability, as well as their tunable structures. With a high density of molecular-scale pores, these materials exhibit strong charge transport and light-harvesting capabilities, making them promising for applications ranging from gas storage and energy technologies to photocatalysis and optoelectronics.

However, conventional synthesis methods are often complex, costly, and difficult to scale. They typically require high temperatures, expensive metal catalysts, and multi-step reaction processes, limiting their broader applicability.

Martian Dust Storms Create Electric Chemical Reactions

“This research sheds light on an important facet of modern Mars: the interaction of the atmosphere and the surface,” said Dr. Paul Byrne. [ https://www.labroots.com/trending/space/30400/martian-dust-s…eactions-2](https://www.labroots.com/trending/space/30400/martian-dust-s…eactions-2)

How does static electricity shape the surface of Mars? This is what a recent study published in Earth and Planetary Science Letters hopes to address as an international team of scientists investigated atmosphere-surface interactions on Mars, specifically regarding electrostatic discharge, or static electricity. This study has the potential to help scientists better understand atmosphere-surface interactions on planetary bodies and how this could help find life beyond Earth.

For the study, the researchers conducted a series of laboratory experiments to simulate how dust storms and dust devils on Mars could trigger the production of compounds like perchlorates and carbonates within the Martian regolith (often mistakenly called “soil”) and hydrochloric acid (HCl) in the atmosphere. The motivation for the study was to gain insight into how planets work, specifically regarding their geological activity.

In the end, the researchers found that static electricity from Martian dust activities are responsible for producing perchlorates and carbonates in the Martian regolith and HCl in the Martian atmosphere. The study’s results were compared with real-world data obtained from the European Space Agency’s ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter and NASA’s Curiosity rover for atmospheric and surface data, respectively.

Fluorescence imaging technique reveals hidden magnetic chemistry in living systems

A research team at the University of Tokyo has developed a new microscopy platform that can observe a previously hidden layer of biomolecular chemistry linked to weak magnetic fields. The work, led by Project Researcher Noboru Ikeya and Professor Jonathan R. Woodward at the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, addresses a long-standing technical gap in life-science measurement: Many important intermediates in spin-dependent reactions are “dark” molecules that do not emit light directly and therefore escape conventional fluorescence imaging.

To solve this, the team combined two precisely timed light pulses with a synchronized nanosecond magnetic pulse. The approach, called pump-field-probe fluorescence microscopy, compares signals as the magnetic field switches at different points in time. This comparison isolates the spin-dependent part of the chemistry and reveals precisely how magnetically sensitive intermediates appear and disappear. The findings are published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

The researchers validated the method in flavin-based model systems that are widely used to study biologically relevant photochemistry. They showed that the platform can recover reaction lifetimes and magnetic responses with high sensitivity, including at low concentrations matching cellular conditions. The system was capable of detecting very small signal changes under practical low-damage single-experiment per frame settings, an important step toward future live-cell studies.

Advancing synthetic cells: A more flexible system to replicate cellular functions

Creating artificial systems that mimic the functioning of cells is one of the goals of what is known as synthetic biology. These models, known as synthetic or biomimetic cells, allow some of the basic processes of life to be reproduced in the laboratory to better understand how natural cells work and develop new technologies. In this context, a study involving a team of researchers from the Center for Research in Biological Chemistry and Molecular Materials (CiQUS) of the University of Santiago (USC) proposes a more flexible chemical strategy to create this type of system.

The objective, explain the researchers, is to design structures that mimic certain cellular functions and that can be used as small chemical reactors. The study is published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

“The idea is to try to replicate cellular functions at the level of encapsulation of communication enzymes,” explains researcher Lucas García, referring to artificial systems capable of recreating processes that in real cells allow, for example, different reactions to take place within the same compartment.

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