Phys.org
New catalyst could make mixed plastic waste recyclable in one chemical step
Chemical recycling has long struggled with mixed plastics because different polymer types are incompatible when melted together — but a new catalyst may change that by breaking down multiple plastic types simultaneously in a single reaction. The breakthrough could eliminate the costly sorting step that currently makes recycling most household and industrial plastics economically unviable. If scalable, the technology would represent a significant shift in how the world handles the roughly 90% of plastic waste that currently ends up incinerated or in landfill.
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A hidden immune backup system could supercharge mRNA cancer vaccines
Scientists have discovered that mRNA cancer vaccines activate an unexpected type of immune cell, challenging decades of assumptions about the mechanism driving their effectiveness. The finding opens a new avenue for optimizing vaccine design by deliberately targeting this backup immune pathway. Better understanding of how these vaccines actually work could translate directly into more potent, personalized cancer treatments.
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Physicists created a tiny universe where time emerged without a clock
Physicists at the University of Birmingham demonstrated that time can emerge spontaneously from quantum systems rather than being a fundamental backdrop to reality. Using 24,000 ultracold atoms as a miniature universe, they showed that the flow of time arises from internal changes within the system itself — no external clock required. The findings offer rare experimental support for a long-standing theoretical idea that time is not a given, but something that emerges from the physics happening around us.
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AI reveals hidden San Andreas Fault movements
Researchers have used AI to detect slow, silent slip events along the San Andreas Fault that conventional monitoring systems routinely miss. These "creep" movements release seismic stress gradually over hours or days rather than in violent ruptures. Understanding this hidden activity could sharpen predictions of where and when dangerous earthquakes are most likely to strike.
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