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Category: chemistry

Prof. RHO Jun-seok Advances Metalens Technology from Manufacturing to Display Applications in Two Nature Papers

Nanoprinting imprinting metalenses 100x faster than lithography.

Professor RHO Jun-seok from the Departments of Mechanical Engineering and Chemical Engineering at POSTECH has gained international attention for developing a mass-production process for metalenses and a switchable 2D-3D display technology based on them. The two studies were simultaneously published in the April 30 issue of Nature. This marks the first case in Korea of a researcher publishing two separate papers as corresponding author in the same issue of the journal.

A metalens is a flat optical device that controls light using nanoscale structures rather than curved glass. By replacing bulky glass lenses with engineered surface patterns, optical systems become far thinner and lighter. Because this enables control of light at scales smaller than its wavelength, metamaterials are often regarded as a Nobel Prize–worthy field of research.

The first study addressed a key barrier to commercialization: large-scale manufacturing. Production has so far relied on expensive and complex semiconductor fabrication processes due to the extreme precision required, making it slow, costly, and largely limited to laboratory research. To overcome this, Prof. RHO’s team developed a Roll-to-Roll Nanoimprint process enabling continuous production using a cylindrical roller. Instead of fabricating nanoscale structures one by one on rigid molds, flexible polymer molds were used to imprint patterns onto thin films. This shifts fabrication from a one-at-a-time process to continuous factory-scale production. The team produced over 300 metalenses per second, about 100 times faster than conventional methods, while maintaining consistent performance over a 200-meter process.

Researchers capture inception of hydrogen-uranium reaction for the first time

When hydrogen gas interacts with uranium metal, the combination creates a chemically reactive powder and a runaway reaction that is difficult to stop. The result can impact the safety and lifespan of technology critical for fusion energy, hydrogen storage and nuclear fuels.

In a recent study published in npj Materials Degradation, researchers from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) observed and characterized the beginning stages of hydrogen-uranium corrosion for the first time. The result will lead to more predictive and physically grounded models for how uranium components degrade.

Imagine the hydrogen-uranium interaction like a geyser. Much like surface water seeping through cracks to make its way underground, hydrogen dissolves and diffuses into the uranium metal. This happens silently and invisibly until it becomes too much hydrogen for the uranium to hold. The two materials combine to form a new compound called uranium hydride, which takes up significantly more volume than the original uranium metal.

Single-step 8-9x expansion reveals nanoscale centrioles without electron microscopy

In a study published in ACS Nano, researchers from National Taiwan University report a new expansion microscopy strategy termed high-fold homogeneous expansion microscopy (hiHomoExM), capable of achieving approximately 8–9× isotropic expansion in a single expansion step while preserving delicate ultrastructural organization.

Expansion microscopy works by embedding biological samples within a swellable polymer hydrogel. Following chemical processing, the hydrogel expands uniformly in water, physically separating biomolecules and effectively increasing the spatial resolution achievable by conventional light microscopes.

“To achieve nanoscale imaging faithfully, both high expansion and homogeneous specimen preservation are essential,” explains the research team. “Nonuniform expansion can distort ultrastructural information and limit biological interpretation.”

The nocebo effect: How prior experience and verbal suggestion rewire the brain to make pain worse

Researchers have a better understanding of the nocebo effect and the neuroscience behind it all. Opposite of the better-known placebo effect, where positive expectations trigger genuine pain relief, the nocebo effect is the experience from negative expectations, created by prior experience, verbal suggestion, or social observation, which can drive anxiety and make pain worse.

A new study published in Nature Communications, by researchers at the University of Toronto Mississauga and McGill University, identified a brain pathway through which negative expectations can amplify pain. The findings, generated independently by the two labs without prior coordination, converged on the neurochemical cholecystokinin (CCK), which has previously been linked to nocebo pain responses in humans.

The researchers identified a specific brain pathway through which CCK acts, traveling from the brain’s anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), a region involved in the emotional dimensions of pain, to a midbrain structure called the lateral periaqueductal gray (lPAG), where it increases pain sensitivity.

AI-powered spectrometer chip shrinks lab technology to the size of a grain of sand

A new AI-powered chip from UC Davis can analyze light and chemicals using a device tiny enough to fit almost anywhere. By combining smart silicon sensors with machine learning, it achieves lab-style spectral analysis without the bulky equipment.

My Video Tour of Alcor and Interview with CEO Max More

What counts as death? And who gets to decide?

In the summer of 2013, I traveled to Scottsdale, Arizona to visit the Alcor Life Extension Foundation, the world’s leading cryonics organization, founded in 1972. CEO Dr. Max More gave me a full tour of the facilities and walked me through the entire process: from the moment clinical death is declared, through controlled cooling and vitrification, to the cryo-tanks holding (at the time) 117 patients in long-term storage.

I also asked him, somewhat selfishly, whether my big bald head would fit comfortably in a neuro-patient container.

After the tour, Max sat down with me for a 25-minute conversation that covered:

Affordability and the real cost of membership Why minimizing cooling delays after clinical death is critical, and what long-distance members do about it Preserving pets, because of course people ask Chemical brain preservation as an alternative path The importance of protecting the neuron’s microtubules The case for an X Prize style competition to reduce tissue damage Where cryonics sits inside the broader transhumanist project.

My favorite line from Max, the one I still come back to:

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Discovery of stromatolite formation in post-impact hydrothermal lacustrine environments and its implications for early Earth

Stromatolites within the Hapcheon impact crater suggest that asteroid impacts created hydrothermal oases fostering early life and habitability, according to geochemical, isotopic, and microbial analyses from the Hapcheon crater lake in Korea.

Mitochondrial checkpoint enables dendritic cells to activate T lymphocytes against viruses, tumors

A study led by researchers at the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC) has identified a mitochondrial “checkpoint” that enables dendritic cells to efficiently activate T lymphocytes against viruses and tumors. Dendritic cells are immune cells that detect threats and activate the body’s defenses, acting as “sentinels” that instruct T lymphocytes on what to attack.

The study, published in Science Immunology, shows that restoring the internal chemical imbalance caused by defective mitochondrial function in dendritic cells restores the capacity of immune cells to defend the body against infection. The findings could open new avenues for improving cancer immunotherapy.

The study reveals that the ability of dendritic cells to activate T lymphocytes depends on an unexpected mechanism: the proper functioning of mitochondrial complex I, a key mitochondrial component. Mitochondrial complex I acts as a “metabolic switch” that is essential for the ability of dendritic cells to convert viral or tumor-derived material into effective immune activation signals and trigger a strong T-cell response.

Some technologies use accelerated natural processes to capture carbon, but can they store it durably?

Natural geological processes have been regulating Earth’s climate for millions of years. Accelerated versions of these processes are now being promoted as technologies to draw down carbon from the atmosphere—and some are rapidly moving from concept to real-world deployments.

Two such technologies are known as enhanced weathering, which speeds up the chemical breakdown of certain rocks, and ocean alkalinity enhancement, which increases the ocean’s natural ability to remove carbon dioxide from the air.

Startups backed by tech companies including Google and Microsoft are already applying these technologies in field trials. Investment in the sector is rising rapidly, with large-scale trials underway and carbon credits beginning to appear on voluntary markets.

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