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When substrates dictate the route: Deuterium source reshapes hydrogen isotope exchange pathways

A collaboration between the groups of Professor Mónica H. Pérez-Temprano at the Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia (ICIQ) and Professor Anat Milo at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev has uncovered how the characteristics of specific substrates require certain reaction conditions that determine the course of a chemical reaction, in the context of C–H deuteration reactions.

The study, published in Nature Catalysis, combines detailed experiments with data science rooted in reaction intermediates. By correlating molecular features with reaction outcomes, the researchers reveal that the choice of deuterium source—such as heavy water (D2O), deuterated methanol (CD3OD), or acetic acid-d4 (AcOD-d4)—does more than merely influencing the degree of deuterium incorporation. It can actively alter the reaction pathway, revealing hidden mechanistic complexity that intuition alone could not predict.

Soft robots harvest ambient heat for self-sustained motion

A warm hand is enough to drive motion in tiny Salmonella-inspired robots that harness molecular-level dynamic bonding.

A team of researchers from China and the U.S. came together to design soft robots with a coordination-motorized oscillator (CoMO) that can make self-sustained micromovements by harvesting small amounts of energy from sunlight or body heat. At the heart of this innovation is a new supramolecular polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-based elastic polymer dynamically crosslinked by Eu3+ at the center.

The findings are published in Angewandte Chemie.

Study reveals unexpected link between dopamine and serotonin in the brain

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet, Columbia University and the University of San Francisco, have uncovered a previously unknown mechanism by which dopamine, a key brain chemical vital for movement and motivation, can affect brain activity indirectly by boosting serotonin. The study was published in Science Advances.

Dopamine is a key chemical messenger that supports many essential brain functions, including motivation, movement, and learning. Although dopamine acts throughout the brain, it plays an especially central role in the basal ganglia, a network of interconnected regions responsible for selecting which behaviors we express.

The basal ganglia and dopamine are deeply involved in neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases, and many widely used medications target this network.

New model measures how AI sycophancy affects chatbot accuracy and rationality

If you’ve spent any time with ChatGPT or another AI chatbot, you’ve probably noticed they are intensely, almost overbearingly, agreeable. They apologize, flatter and constantly change their “opinions” to fit yours.

It’s such common behavior that there’s even a term for it: AI sycophancy.

However, new research from Northeastern University reveals that AI sycophancy is not just a quirk of these systems; it can actually make large language models more error-prone. The research is published on the arXiv preprint server.

Collaborating minds think alike, processing information in similar ways in a shared task, study shows

Whether great minds think alike is up for debate, but the collaborating minds of two people working on a shared task process information alike, according to a study published in PLOS Biology by Denise Moerel and colleagues from Western Sydney University in Australia.

Humans rely on collaboration for everything from raising food to raising children. But to cooperate successfully, people need to make sure that they are seeing the same things and working within the same rules. We must agree that the red fruits are the ones that are ripe and that we will leave green fruits alone.

Behavioral collaboration requires that people think in the same way and follow the same instructions. To better understand people’s cognitive processes during a shared task, the authors of this study collected data from 24 pairs of people.

Particle accelerator waste could help produce cancer-fighting materials

Energy that would normally go to waste inside powerful particle accelerators could be used to create valuable medical isotopes, scientists have found.

Researchers at the University of York have shown that intense radiation captured in particle accelerator “beam dumps” could be repurposed to produce materials used in cancer therapy. The study is published in the journal Physical Review C.

Scientists have now found a way to make those leftover photons do a second job, without affecting the main physics experiments.

Anomalous electronic state opens pathway to room-temperature superconductivity

Superconductive materials can conduct electricity with no resistance, but typically only at very low temperatures. Realizing superconductivity at room temperature could enable advanced, energy-efficient electronics and other technologies.

Now, an international research team is one step closer to such an achievement. The researchers made the first observation of a special electronic state known as a “nodal metal,” which provides more insight into electronic behavior at different temperatures, in a multilayer system comprising copper and oxygen.

The team, which includes researchers based in Japan, Taiwan and the United States, published their results in Nature Communications.

Quantum key distribution enables secure communication via hybrid and mobile channels

As part of the QuNET project, researchers have demonstrated how quantum key distribution works reliably via hybrid and mobile channels. The results are milestones for sovereign, quantum-secured communication in Germany and have been published in the New Journal of Physics.

Quantum communication is considered a crucial technology for long-term data security and thus also for technological sovereignty in Germany and Europe. At its core is the distribution of secure cryptographic keys based on quantum physical processes—quantum key distribution (QKD).

QKD will not only be important for highly secure communication in government agencies, the military, and businesses, but will also help protect the data we use in our daily lives.

Defining work and heat in quantum systems: Laser light coherence offers a consistent approach

Researchers at the University of Basel have developed a new approach to applying thermodynamics to microscopic quantum systems.

In 1798, the officer and physicist Benjamin Thompson (a.k.a. Count Rumford) observed the drilling of cannon barrels in Munich and concluded that heat is not a substance but can be created in unlimited amounts by mechanical friction.

Rumford determined the amount of heat generated by immersing the cannon barrels in water and measuring how long it took the water to reach boiling. Based on such experiments, thermodynamics was developed in the 19th century. Initially, it was at the service of the Industrial Revolution and explained, physically, for instance, how heat can be efficiently converted into useful work in steam engines.

A 100-Year-Old Problem Solved? Scientists Discover How To Freeze Organs Without Cracking Them

The breakthrough approach could lead to successful, long-term organ transplants, bringing science fiction closer to becoming medical reality. Cryopreservation, the process of preserving biological tissues by cooling them to subzero temperatures, might sound like something out of science fiction.

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