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Smart microrobots learn to communicate and collaborate in water

In a major step toward intelligent and collaborative microrobotic systems, researchers at the Research Center for Materials, Architectures and Integration of Nanomembranes (MAIN) at Chemnitz University of Technology have developed a new generation of autonomous microrobots—termed smartlets—that can communicate, respond, and work together in aqueous environments.

These tiny devices, each just a millimeter in size, are fully integrated with onboard electronics, sensors, actuators, and . They are able to receive and transmit optical signals, respond to stimuli with motion, and exchange information with other microrobots in their vicinity.

The findings are published in Science Robotics, in a paper titled “Si chiplet–controlled 3D modular microrobots with smart communication in natural aqueous environments.”

Hydroxyl adsorption identified as key factor in electrocatalytic ammonia production

Compared with the energy-intensive Haber-Bosch process, renewable energy-driven electrocatalytic nitrate reduction reaction (NO3−RR) provides a low-carbon route for ammonia synthesis under mild conditions. Using nitrate from wastewater as the nitrogen source and water as the hydrogen source, this route has the potential to produce ammonia sustainably while mitigating water pollution.

Copper (Cu)-based catalysts show a good performance for NO3−RR to ammonia. However, they suffer from issues including high overpotential, competing nitrite (NO2–) formation, and low overall energy efficiency.

In a study published in ACS Catalysis, a team led by Prof. Bao Xinhe and Prof. Gao Dunfeng from the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, along with Prof. Wang Guoxiong from Fudan University, proposed hydroxyl (*OH) as a selectivity descriptor for via NO3−RR over Cu catalysts.

Self-consistent model incorporates gas self-gravity effects to address accretion across cosmic scales

A research team led by Prof. Jiao Chengliang at the Yunnan Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, along with collaborators, has introduced a self-consistent model that addresses long-unresolved theoretical gaps in the study of self-gravitating spherical accretion. The study was recently published in The Astrophysical Journal.

Accretion, the fundamental astrophysical process by which matter is drawn onto a central celestial object (such as a black hole or star), underpins our understanding of phenomena ranging from to black hole growth. For decades, the classical Bondi model—developed in the 1950s and still widely used today—has served as the backbone of research.

However, this foundational framework overlooks a critical factor: the self-gravity of the gas being accreted. This omission, the researchers note, can drastically alter flow structures and accretion rates in high-density astrophysical environments, limiting the model’s accuracy in key scenarios.

Zigzag graphene nanoribbons create ‘string light’ configuration for tomorrow’s electronics

Organic chemistry, the chemistry of carbon compounds, is the basis of all life on Earth. However, metals also play a key role in many biochemical processes. When it comes to “marrying” large, heavy metal atoms with light organic compounds, nature often relies on a specific group of chemical structures: porphyrins. These molecules form an organic ring; in its center, individual metal ions such as iron, cobalt, or magnesium can be “anchored.”

The porphyrin framework forms the basis for hemoglobin in human blood, photosynthetic chlorophyll in plants, and numerous enzymes. Depending on which metal is captured by the porphyrin, the resulting compounds can display a wide range of chemical and physical properties. Chemists and materials scientists have long sought to exploit this flexibility and functionality of porphyrins, including for applications in .

However, for —even molecular ones—to function, they must be connected to each other. Wiring up individual molecules is no easy task. But this is precisely what researchers at Empa’s nanotech@surfaces laboratory have achieved, in collaboration with synthetic chemists from the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research.

Two quantum computers with 20 qubits manage to simulate information scrambling

Four RIKEN researchers have used two small quantum computers to simulate quantum information scrambling, an important quantum-information process. This achievement illustrates a potential application of future quantum computers. The results are published in Physical Review Research.

Still in their infancy, quantum computers are only just beginning to be used for applications. But they promise to revolutionize computing when they become a mature technology.

One possible application for quantum computers is simulating the scrambling of quantum information—a key phenomenon that involves the spread of information in ranging from strange metals to .

Simulations reveal pion’s interaction with Higgs field with unprecedented precision

With the help of innovative large-scale simulations on various supercomputers, physicists at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) have succeeded in gaining new insights into previously elusive aspects of the physics of strong interaction.

Associate Professor Dr. Georg von Hippel and Dr. Konstantin Ottnad from the Institute of Nuclear Physics and the PRISMA+ Cluster of Excellence have calculated the interaction of the pion with the Higgs field with unprecedented precision based on . Their findings were recently published in Physical Review Letters.

Physics-inspired computer architecture solves complex optimization problems

A line of engineering research seeks to develop computers that can tackle a class of challenges called combinatorial optimization problems. These are common in real-world applications such as arranging telecommunications, scheduling, and travel routing to maximize efficiency.

Unfortunately, today’s technologies run into limits for how much processing power can be packed into a computer chip, while training artificial-intelligence models demands tremendous amounts of energy.

Researchers at UCLA and UC Riverside have demonstrated a new approach that overcomes these hurdles to solve some of the most difficult optimization problems. The team designed a system that processes information using a network of oscillators, components that move back and forth at certain frequencies, rather than representing all data digitally. This type of computer architecture, called an Ising machine, has special power for parallel computing, which makes numerous, complex calculations simultaneously. When the oscillators are in sync, the optimization problem is solved.

New measurement station in Brazil: Quantum technology expands global network in search for dark matter

A highly sensitive quantum sensor from Jena has traveled nearly 9,000 kilometers: by truck to Hamburg, by ship across the Atlantic, and finally overland to Vassouras, Brazil.

At the campus of the Observatório Nacional, researchers from the Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology (Leibniz-IPHT) in Jena, together with Brazilian partners, have installed a new measurement station. It is part of the worldwide GNOME project and is designed to help address one of the great unsolved questions in modern physics: the nature of .

Dark matter cannot be directly detected with conventional measurement methods. However, it demonstrably influences the motion of galaxies and the structure of the cosmos. Understanding its nature remains one of the central open problems in physics.

Trapped calcium ions entangled with photons form scalable nodes for quantum networks

Researchers at the University of Innsbruck have created a system in which individual qubits—stored in trapped calcium ions—are each entangled with separate photons. Demonstrating this method for a register of up to 10 qubits, the team has shown an easily scalable approach that opens new possibilities for linking quantum computers and quantum sensors.

Hidden turbulence discovered in polymer fluids

Turbulence, the chaotic, irregular motion that causes the bumpiness we sometimes experience on an airplane, has intrigued scientists for centuries. At the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST), researchers are exploring this phenomenon in a special class of materials known as complex fluids.

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