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Astronomers have for the first time discovered carbon-based molecules in the atmosphere of an exoplanet in the habitable zone. The international team, which includes Cardiff University astrophysicist Dr Subi Sarkar, used data from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to detect methane and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of K2-18 b. Orbiting a red-dwarf star 124 light years away in the constellation of Leo, K2-18 b is a 'sub-Neptune' exoplanet 2.6 times the size of Earth and 8.6 times the mass of Earth.

Storing renewable energy as hydrogen could soon become much easier thanks to a new catalyst based on single atoms of platinum. The new catalyst, designed by researchers at City University Hong Kong (CityU) and tested by colleagues at Imperial College London, could be cheaply scaled up for mass use. The new electrocatalyst could be a major contributor to ultimately helping the UK meet its net-zero goals by 2050.

New research by the University of Liverpool's Chemistry Department represents an important breakthrough in the field of polymer science. In a paper published in the journal Nature Chemistry, and featuring on the front cover, Liverpool researchers use mechanochemistry to characterise how a polymer chain in solution responds to a sudden acceleration of the solvent flow around it.

We spoke to Professor Julie McCann about her work on secure tracking devices that contributed to the first quantum-secure cross-border trade. Towards the end of June, a consortium of scientists, industry and government officials watched anxiously on UK shores as a ship embarked on its journey to Singapore and slowly disappeared out of sight.

Researchers at University of Manchester and the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland, have revealed an innovative approach to track individual molecule dynamics within nanofluidic structures, illuminating their response to molecules in ways never before possible. Nanofluidics, the study of fluids confined within ultra-small spaces, offers insights into the behaviour of liquids on a nanometer scale.

Quantum-derived findings could make mid-infrared light sensing much easier at room temperatures. Scientists from the University of Birmingham and the University of Cambridge have developed a new method for detecting mid-infrared (MIR) light at room temperature using quantum systems. The research, published today (28th August) in Nature Photonics, was conducted at the Cavendish Laboratory at the University of Cambridge and marks a significant breakthrough in the ability for scientists to gain insight into the working of chemical and biological molecules.

Researchers from The University of Manchester and the University of Warwick finally solved the long-standing puzzle of why graphene is so much more permeable to protons than expected by theory. A decade ago, scientists at The University of Manchester demonstrated that graphene is permeable to protons, nuclei of hydrogen atoms.

Researchers have found a way to control the interaction of light and quantum -spin- in organic semiconductors, that works even at room temperature. These new materials hold great promise for completely new applications, since we've been able to remove the need for ultra-cold temperatures Sebastian Gorgon Spin is the term for the intrinsic angular momentum of electrons, which is referred to as up or down.

Researchers have found a new way to measure dark energy - the mysterious force that makes up more than two-thirds of the universe and is responsible for its accelerating expansion - in our own cosmic backyard.

Researchers have recorded the most precise measurement yet of the magnetic moment of the muon, entering a new realm in the search for new interactions that govern our Universe. An international team of researchers, including from The University of Manchester, working on the Muon g-2 experiment at the U.S. Department of Energy, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory have announced their much-anticipated updated measurement of the magnetic moment of the muon.

Bringing ultrafast physics to structural biology has revealed the dance of molecular -coherence- in unprecedented clarity. How molecules change when they react to stimuli such as light is fundamental in biology, for example during photosynthesis. Scientists have been working to unravel the workings of these changes in several fields, and by combining two of these, researchers have paved the way for a new era in understanding the reactions of protein molecules fundamental for life.

A new, ultraprecise measurement of the subatomic muon particle's anomalous magnetic moment, conducted at US-based Fermilab and involving researchers from UCL, reinforces a discrepancy between theory and experiment that physicists can't explain, potentially hinting at new physics. The latest results, submitted to Physical Review Letters , reinforce previous measurements of the muon's magnetic moment conducted by the Muon g-2 collaboration, the international research team operating the experiment.

Observations of gravitational waves from merging black holes may reveal new insights about dark matter, suggests a new study from a UCL-led international team. The study, presented at the 2023 National Astronomy Meeting in Cardiff and now published in the journal Physical Review D , used computer simulations to study the production of gravitational wave signals in simulated universes with different kinds of dark matter.

New nanotechnology may make it easier to identify the chemical composition of impurities and their geometrical shape in samples of air, liquid and live tissue. Using conventional testing techniques, it can be challenging - sometimes impossible - to detect harmful contaminants such as nano-plastics, air pollutants and microbes in living organisms and natural materials.

Researchers in the National Graphene Institute (NGI) at The University of Manchester have revisited one of the most ancient materials on Earth - graphite, and discovered new physics that has eluded the field for decades. Despite being made entirely of layers of carbon atoms arranged in a honeycomb pattern, natural graphite is not as simple as one may think.

An unusual white dwarf star is made of hydrogen on one side and helium on the other. In a first for white dwarfs, the burnt-our cores of dead stars, astronomers from institutions including the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and the University of Warwick have discovered that at least one member of this cosmic family is two faced.

For the first time, the James Webb Space Telescope has observed the chemical signature of carbon-rich dust grains in the early universe. Similar observational signatures have been observed in the much more recent universe, and have been attributed to complex, carbon-based molecules known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).

Discovery opens up applications beyond what biology is currently capable of - showcasing how we might engineer new technologies. Scientists have found a new use for copper in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agent design, that could help to create better images which help doctors diagnose patients' conditions more easily and safely.

A theoretical understanding of what makes some hollow-core optical fibres more efficient than others will inspire the design of new low-loss fibres. Immense progress has been made in recent years to increase the efficiency of optical fibres through the design of cables that allow data to be transmitted both faster and at broader bandwidths.

After 25 years of observations, an international team of astronomers has seen the first evidence of ultra-low-frequency gravitational waves. The waves are expected to come from pairs of supermassive black holes found in the centres of merging galaxies and the discovery could hold answers about the formation and evolution of the Universe and the galaxies that populate it, including our own Milky Way.