Finding treasures with physics: the fingerprint matrix

Left: Artistic impression of metal spheres buried in small glass beads. Middle: Conventional ultrasound picture. Right: With the new technology, the positions of the metal spheres can be precisely determined.
Image Credit: © TU Wien / Arthur Le Ber

How do you find objects buried in sand or hidden in thick fog? A team from the Institut Langevin (Paris) and TU Wien (Vienna) has developed an astonishing method.

Can we reveal objects that are hidden in environments completely opaque to the human eye? With conventional imaging techniques, the answer is no: a dense cloud or layer of material blocks light so completely that a simple photograph contains no information about what lies behind it.

However, a research collaboration between the Institut Langevin and TU Wien has now shown that, with the help of innovative mathematical tricks, objects can be detected even in such cases – using what is known as the ‘fingerprint matrix’. The team tested the newly developed method on metal objects buried in sand and in applications in the field of medical imaging. A joint publication on this topic has just appeared in the journal Nature Physics.

Rare glimpse at understudied ecosystem prompts caution on deep-sea mining

Some of the animals identified in the deep-sea that spend their life in the benthic boundary layer.
Photo Credit: Gabrielle Ellis

Scientific Frontline: Extended "At a Glance" Summary: The Abyssal Benthic Boundary Layer

The Core Concept: The abyssal benthic boundary layer is an enormous, poorly understood marine region located just a few meters above the global ocean seafloor. It hosts a dynamic community of tiny organisms, such as zooplankton, snails, bivalves, and barnacles, forming a crucial and interconnected component of the broader deep-sea ecosystem.

Key Distinction/Mechanism: Unlike the historical assumption that the deep abyss is a largely static environment, the benthic boundary layer is highly responsive to seasonal changes. The ecosystem is driven by the varying levels of organic material (food) sinking from the productive surface waters above, resulting in stark structural changes to the biological community between spring and fall.

Major Frameworks/Components:

• Organic Matter Flux: The dependence of the deep-sea benthic community on the downward transfer of organic material from the surface ocean.
• Temporal Dynamics: The significant seasonal variations in the community structure of deep-sea zooplankton based on surface productivity.
• Larval Dispersal Pathway: The boundary layer functions as a critical transit zone and habitat for the larvae of wide-ranging abyssal species before they settle on the seafloor.
• Anthropogenic Disruption: The mechanisms by which deep-sea mining harms the ecosystem, including ambient water removal, sediment plumes that interfere with filter-feeding, and the removal of polymetallic nodules that serve as essential settling habitats for larvae.

Sudan Ebola virus can persist in survivors for months

Image Credit: AI Generated

Scientific Frontline: Extended "At a Glance" Summary: Long-Term Sequelae of Sudan Ebolavirus

The Core Concept: More than half of Sudan ebolavirus survivors experience severe, ongoing health complications—a post-viral syndrome termed "long Ebola"—up to two years post-infection. Pathogenic viral RNA can persist in specific bodily secretions for several months after the resolution of acute clinical symptoms.

Key Distinction/Mechanism: Unlike prior longitudinal studies that primarily tracked the Zaire strain, this research explicitly isolates the long-term pathology of the Sudan strain. The virus utilizes "immune-privileged" sites (anatomical zones with restricted immune system access, such as the testes and mammary glands) to evade clearance, leading to viral latency, potential reactivation, and multi-systemic symptomatic damage.

Major Frameworks/Components:

• Comparative Methodology: Tracked 87 outbreak survivors alongside 176 uninfected community controls over a 24-month period (assessments at 3, 9, 12, 15, and 24 months).
• Viral Persistence: Documented viral RNA in semen for up to 210 days and in breast milk for up to 199 days.
• Systemic Sequelae: Identified high-frequency, persistent symptoms impacting the musculoskeletal system (45%), central nervous system (36%), and ocular system (20%).
• Latency and Reactivation: Observed viral reappearance in semen after consecutive negative tests, demonstrating ongoing biological latency eight months post-infection.

What Is: Microplastics

Microplastic
Credit: Scientific Frontline

The Invisible Tide of Plastic

The modern era has been defined, in part, by the versatility and ubiquity of plastic. Yet, this celebrated 20th-century material has given rise to a paradoxical form of pollution—one so pervasive and minute that its scale was largely unrecognized until recently. Microplastics, the synthetic dust of our industrial age, represent a global environmental challenge of unprecedented complexity. These tiny particles, born from the fragmentation of larger debris and the intentional design of microscopic products, have infiltrated every corner of the planet. Scientific expeditions have confirmed their presence from the summit of Mount Everest to the abyssal depths of the Mariana Trench. More alarmingly, this invisible tide has crossed the final frontier, entering the human body itself, with researchers detecting microplastic particles in human blood, lung tissue, and even the placenta.

The ubiquity of microplastics signals a fundamental disruption of planetary systems. They are not merely inert debris but active agents in the environment, interacting with ecosystems and organisms in complex and often detrimental ways. Their journey spans the globe, carried by ocean currents, river systems, and atmospheric winds, connecting the most remote wilderness to the most densely populated urban centers in a shared system of contamination. This report provides a definitive, evidence-based synthesis of the current scientific understanding of microplastics. It aims to dissect the full scope of this issue, beginning with a fundamental definition of the pollutant and a detailed accounting of its myriad sources. It will then trace the environmental fate and transport of these particles through aquatic, terrestrial, and atmospheric systems. Finally, the report will conduct an exhaustive analysis of their multifaceted impacts on ecological integrity and human health, concluding with a critical evaluation of the policies, technologies, and strategies required to mitigate this pervasive threat.

3D-printed shelters increase baby coral survival rates

Researchers place the modules onto experimental tables in Kāneʻohe Bay.
Photo Credit: Jessica Reichert

To dramatically increase coral survival rates, scientists at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB) have developed innovative 3D-printed ceramic structures that provide crucial protection for baby corals. These new designs offer a low-cost and scalable solution to enhance reef recovery worldwide.

The discovery, published in Biological Conservation, addresses a critical challenge in reef restoration—the low settlement and survival rates of juvenile corals, which often die before adulthood due to predation, being overgrown by algae or being swept away by waves.

“We developed structures that help baby corals find safe homes in the reef,” said Josh Madin, principal investigator at HIMB’s Geometric Ecology Lab and co-author of the study. “Our new designs, with small spiral-shaped shelters called ‘helix recesses,’ give young corals the protection they need during this critical stage.”

Rock art shows earliest known human return to Arabia after the last Ice Age

Rock art has led scientists to revise the timeline of humans repopulating Saudi deserts.
Photo Credit: Sahout Rock Art and Archaeology Project

Scientific Frontline: Extended "At a Glance" Summary: Pleistocene-Holocene Transition Human Repopulation of Arabia

The Core Concept: Recent archaeological and paleoenvironmental evidence indicates that human populations returned to the interior regions of the Arabian Desert during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition, several thousand years earlier than previously established models suggested.

Key Distinction/Mechanism: Unlike earlier sites where rock art was concealed within sheltered crevices, this discovery features large-scale, naturalistic engravings etched onto exposed, towering cliff faces, suggesting a distinct cultural identity adapted to a challenging, arid environment.

Major Frameworks/Components:

• Rock Art Analysis: Identification of over 60 panels featuring 176 engravings of fauna, including camels, ibex, equids, gazelles, and aurochs.
• Artifact Assemblage: Recovery of Levantine-style El Khiam and Helwan stone points, green pigment, and dentalium beads, indicating long-distance cultural connections.
• Paleoenvironmental Modeling: Analysis of playa lake deposits confirming the presence of seasonal water sources as early as 14,000 years ago, following the hyper-aridity of the Last Glacial Maximum.
• Multidisciplinary Integration: Synthesis of archaeological evidence with sedimentological and geochronological data to refine human migration timelines.

Breast Cancer Polygenic Risk Score Associated with Outcomes after In Situ Breast Disease

Photo Credit: National Cancer Institute

Studying a person’s genetic makeup can predict if they will go on to develop invasive breast cancer after abnormal cells have been found in their breast tissue.

For the first time, researchers at King’s College London have shown the connection between a person’s genetic risk score and their risk of developing the disease after irregular cells have been detected.

The research, published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention and funded by Breast Cancer Now, included over 2,000 women in the UK who had been tested for 313 genetic changes, known as a genetic risk score.

These patients had already been diagnosed with either ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) or lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS) – the most common types of abnormal cells found in breast tissue.

A genetic risk score estimates a person's inherited likelihood of developing a disease or trait by combining the influence of multiple common genetic variants.

Converting toxic styrene oxide into attractive compounds

Selvapravin Kumaran, doctoral student in the Microbial Biotechnology working group, takes a measurement in the laboratory. 
Photo Credit: © Dirk Tischler

Styrene oxide isomerase is proving to be a multifunctional helper for biotechnology.

The bacterial membrane enzyme styrene oxide isomerase can convert toxic compounds into valuable materials. Selvapravin Kumaran, a doctoral student in Professor Dirk Tischler's Microbial Biotechnology working group at Ruhr University Bochum, Germany, has discovered exactly how it does this. These findings could help in the future to use the multifunctional enzyme in other reactions involving the production of industrially attractive compounds from inexpensive precursors. “Enzymes are a powerful tool that can make our lives more environmentally friendly,” says Dirk Tischler. The researchers report their findings in the journal ACS Catalysis.

An enzyme with a previously unexplored mechanism

Bacterial styrene oxidase isomerase has been known to science for over three decades, but its mechanism of action has not yet been elucidated. “Working with this enzyme is difficult because it is anchored in the membrane of the bacterial cell system,” says Dirk Tischler. In collaboration with Delft University of Technology, his team was able to uncover the role of the amino acid tyrosine in the conversion of toxic styrene oxide through the rare Meinwald rearrangement.

Fat particles could be key to treating metabolic brain disorders

For decades, it was widely accepted that neurons relied exclusively on glucose to fuel their functions in the brain. This is not the case.
Photo Credit: The University of Queensland

Evidence challenging the long-held assumption that neuronal function in the brain is solely powered by sugars has given researchers new hope of treating debilitating brain disorders.

A University of Queensland study led by Dr Merja Joensuu showed that neurons also use fats for fuel as they fire off the signals for human thought and movement.

“For decades, it was widely accepted that neurons relied exclusively on glucose to fuel their functions in the brain,” Dr Joensuu said.

“But our research shows fats are undoubtedly a crucial part of the neuron’s energy metabolism in the brain and could be a key to repairing and restoring function when it breaks down.”

Dr Joensuu from the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology along with lab members PhD candidate Nyakuoy Yak and Dr Saber Abd Elkader from UQ’s Queensland Brain Institute set out to examine the relationship of a particular gene (DDHD2) to hereditary spastic paraplegia 54 (HSP54).

Potential new therapeutic target for asthma discovered

Photo Credit: Cnordic Nordic

A new way to treat asthma symptoms and even repair previously irreversible lung damage could be on the horizon following the discovery of a potential new therapeutic target by scientists at the Universities of Aberdeen and Manchester.

Current treatments for asthma largely involve controlling the inflammation of lung tissue using steroid inhalers. However, 4 people die every day in the UK from asthma related complications. With funding from the Medical Research Foundation and Asthma UK, a team of researchers from the University of Aberdeen and the University of Manchester have investigated the scarring that occurs in lung tissue as a result of asthma and have been able to reverse these changes in animal models.

Although still in the early stages of development, this discovery paves the way for a new way to treat not only asthma, but many different diseases in which similar structural changes in tissues occur. Such diseases include conditions like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), chronic heart disease and cirrhosis of the liver and account for approximately 40% of deaths worldwide.

Asthma affects more than 7 million people in the UK and severe asthma can have a hugely detrimental impact on an individual’s quality of life. Even when treated, asthma can be fatal and the most recent data shows it contributed to 1,465 deaths in the UK in 20221 – this is despite the availability of new treatments which aim to dampen down inflammation in the lungs.