ChemicalsBreakthroughs
Scientists embedded engineered bacteria into plastic that fully self-destructs in 6 days, leaving no microplastics. Discover how this living material works.
Deep dive: how self-destructing living plastic actually works
Aerospace, Defence & Marine
Airbus and MTU Aero Engines are building the first hydrogen fuel cell aircraft engine for commercial aviation. Here's how the technology works.
Deep dive: how a hydrogen fuel cell aircraft engine actually works
Energy & EnvironmentBreakthroughs
A flowing zinc slurry battery ran for 5,128 hours with 99.94% efficiency in lab tests, offering a new approach to long-duration renewable energy storage.
Deep dive: The chemistry behind zinc slurry battery energy storage
Electronics & CommunicationsBreakthroughs
Max Planck researchers solve the solid state battery dendrite problem, revealing lithium cracks ceramics through pressure, not electron leakage.
Automotive & Transport
JCB's Hydromax streamliner targets the hydrogen speed record at Bonneville with 1,600hp from twin hydrogen engines and driver Andy Green.
Energy & EnvironmentBreakthroughs
Tohoku University's graphene-COF interlayer keeps a lithium sulfur battery stable for 1,000 cycles at 674 Wh/kg, solving the polysulfide shuttle problem.
Deep dive: Trapping polysulfides
Energy & EnvironmentInnovation
Engineers at UT Austin created a water harvesting jacket that produces up to 900ml of drinking water daily from atmospheric moisture using biomass hydrogel.
Deep dive: the chemistry of atmospheric water harvesting
Chemicals
Osaka researchers built an artificial photosynthesis solar fuel system that runs without batteries, turning sunlight, water and CO2 into formic acid.
Deep dive: Electrolysers, Impedance, and the Physics of Self-Regulation
Energy & Environment
UK wind turbine rare earth recycling could supply neodymium for one million EVs a year from 2038, a NEPC report finds. Here's how the…
Deep dive: How Neodymium Magnets Work and Why Recycling Them Is Hard
Chemicals
A new two-stage catalyst process converts plastic waste into jet fuel at near-ambient pressure, achieving over 82% yield. Published in Nature Energy.
Deep dive: The Chemistry Behind Plastic Waste Jet Fuel
Construction & Infrastructure
Engineers completed a world-first £23M Severn Tunnel overhead line upgrade, replacing 9,000 metres of wiring in one of Britain's most corrosive rail environments.
Deep dive: Overhead Line Equipment and the Challenge of Undersea Electrification
HealthBreakthroughs
MIT engineers built a carbon nanotube catheter that detects bladder cancer biomarkers 50,000 times better than standard tests and maps tumour location.
Deep dive: The Science Behind Nanotube Catheter Cancer Detection