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Quantum spin liquids are fascinating states of matter where magnetic spins stay disordered, defying the usual rules of magnetism. Scientists have made an exciting discovery about one such material. Instead of acting like a 2D system as expected, it behaves like a 1D system. This breakthrough changes how we understand these mysterious materials, offering new insights into magnetism and opening doors to advances in quantum materials and technology.

Quantum spin liquids are fascinating states of matter where magnetic spins stay disordered, defying the usual rules of magnetism. Scientists have made an exciting discovery about one such material. Instead of acting like a 2D system as expected, it behaves like a 1D system. This breakthrough changes how we understand these mysterious materials, offering new insights into magnetism and opening doors to advances in quantum materials and technology.

Sour beers have become a fixture on microbrewery menus and store shelves. They're enjoyed for their tart, complex flavors, but some can require long and complicated brewing processes. Researchers have now brewed new sours in less time using a seemingly strange ingredient: field peas. The experimental beers had fruity -- not 'beany' -- flavors and other attributes comparable to a commercial Belgian-style sour, but with shorter, simpler brewing steps.

A specialized sponge that works to slurp up pollutants, and then release them as desired, may present a reusable, low-cost solution.

Young adults are at higher risk for crashes due to inexperience, risk-taking, and impaired driving. A study examines the link between commuter college students' mental health and crash risk, highlighting the added impact on their education, especially in transit-limited South Florida.

A researcher has discovered a new method to remove so-called 'forever chemicals' from our drinking water by heating the PFAS with granular activated carbon. The discovery represents a significant breakthrough in managing PFAS-containing solid wastes, biosolids and spent adsorbent media that are major concerns to farmers and communities.

Physicists measured how readily a current of electron pairs flows through 'magic-angle' graphene, a major step toward understanding how this unusual material superconducts. By determining how readily electron pairs flow through this material, scientists have taken a big step toward understanding its remarkable properties.

Physicists measured how readily a current of electron pairs flows through 'magic-angle' graphene, a major step toward understanding how this unusual material superconducts. By determining how readily electron pairs flow through this material, scientists have taken a big step toward understanding its remarkable properties.

A study by economists shows a wide gap between the kinds of math problems kids who work in retail markets do well and the kinds of problems kids in school do well.

In a milestone that brings quantum computing tangibly closer to large-scale practical use, scientists have demonstrated the first instance of distributed quantum computing. Using a photonic network interface, they successfully linked two separate quantum processors to form a single, fully connected quantum computer, paving the way to tackling computational challenges previously out of reach.

Researchers have revealed novel sequence-structure-property relationships for customizing engineered living materials (ELMs), enabling more precise control over their structure and how they respond to deformation forces like stretching or compression.

Barcodes contain a checksum – an ingenious use of mathematics that even lends itself to a fun way to surprise your friends, says Katie Steckles

In Shroud, Adrian Tchaikovsky's intriguing new novel, two women marooned on a strange moon encounter alien life – and struggle to recognise intelligence in other beings, finds Emily H. Wilson

Winning images from the 2025 Walk of Water photo competition showcase vanishing frozen landscapes, from sparkling ice caves to melting glaciers

A driven teenager up nights working on computer schemes. Could this be Bill Gates? Chris Stokel-Walker reads the much anticipated story of the billionaires's early years, as told by the man himself

Filippo Tommaso Marinetti coined the word futurism in 1909, going on to take an extreme rightward swerve into politics. This way of thinking about the future still influences us today, says Annalee Newitz

Feedback digs into the first peer-reviewed paper from the Game of Thrones author, and concludes that he may have picked the wrong fictional universe to analyse

Increasing numbers of people believe Earth has probably been visited by aliens. That’s a societal problem, says Tony Milligan

The Chinese firm threatens the dominance of Silicon Valley’s AI elite, and its innovations show the technology could be more affordable and less costly to the environment

Asteroid sampling missions are getting increasingly complex. Recent announcements about the existence of amino acids in the sample OSIRIS-REx returned from Bennu in 2023 will likely result in more interest in studying the small bodies strewn throughout our solar system. Engineering challenges abound when doing so, though, including one of the most important – how to collect a sample from the asteroid. A new paper from researchers at the China Academy of Space Technology looks at a gas-drive sample system they believe could hold the key to China’s future asteroid sample return mission.

There are three main categories of successful asteroid sampling missions – shooting, drilling, and puffing. The original Hayabusa mission in 2010 was an example of the first method – it fired a bullet into the asteroid’s surface after performing a “soft landing.” It used the force of the bullet’s impact to shoot fragments into a collection system. This has the advantage of not requiring the spacecraft to be anchored to the asteroid but isn’t very effective at breaking through hard surfaces.

The puffing method, which OSIRIS-REx used during its visit to Bennu, has the same advantages and disadvantages. Instead of a bullet, it puffed nitrogen at the surface as part of its Touch-and-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism (TAGSAM). 

Fraser discusses the discovery of amino acids in the Bennu sample.

Rosetta took a shirt approach, though it did not successfully collect any sample from an asteroid due to problems with its lander, Philae. Philae had a drill called the SD2, intended to bore into the surface of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. It also included a sampling tube that extended through the drill to collect the material. This might have worked, but it required significant power and force on the lander.

In the new paper, the researchers took a hybrid approach to developing their regolith sampling system. It utilizes a pneumatic drill that punches a hole in the regolith rather than spinning to drill one directly. After the hole is punched, the system retracts the drill bit and pushes gas down into the hole to force some of the particles up in a sample collector.

According to the team’s simulations and experiments, this method works well in both microgravity and regular gravity environments. It also operated with various granular materials, ranging from hard marble to fine sand. More pressure (i.e., more gas) was needed to collect larger particles, but any future mission can estimate the necessary gas reserves well in advance.

Sampling system test setup.
Credit – Zhao et al.

There is a good chance that a future mission will use a sampling system like this. Much of the paper discusses how China is rapidly becoming a space scientific power and how the country’s interest in asteroid resources is growing. The research was funded by several governmental organizations in China, and the country has already shown an interest in asteroid sample return, with the Tianwen-2 mission planned for launch later this year. This hybrid sampling approach might someday be adopted, though it remains to be seen if it will stand the test of a rendezvous with an actual asteroid.

Learn More:
Zhao et al – Gas-Driven Regolith-Sampling Strategy for Exploring Micro-Gravity Asteroids
UT – The Building Blocks for Life Found in Asteroid Bennu Samples
UT – Asteroid Samples Returned to Earth Were Immediately Colonized by Bacteria
UT – OSIRIS-REx’s Final Haul: 121.6 Grams from Asteroid Bennu

Lead Image:
Image of the regolith sampling system under test.
Credit – Zhao et al.

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