Research in Germany

The biopolymer lignin – one of the most important carbon reservoirs in plants and soils – not only decays through fungi or bacteria but can also be chemically attacked by iron linked with reactive oxygen species, without the involvement of microorganisms. When this happens, the lignin is converted into methanol and subsequently into formaldehyde. That is shown by a study conducted at Heidelberg University’s Institute of Earth Sciences. The researchers also proved that this conversion takes place in natural soils – solely through wetting and without adding chemicals.

Physics: Publication in Nature In March 2026, scientists succeeded in transporting antiprotons by road for the first time in a purpose-built trap loaded on a truck. The BASE collaboration, which realised this experiment at the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Geneva under the lead of Professor Dr Stefan Ulmer and Dr Christian Smorra from Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU), now presents its findings and experiences from this pioneering experiment in the scientific journal Nature. Among other things, they report that it was possible to store antiprotons in a mobile transport vessel for more than a month for the first time ever.

Physicists at Leipzig University and Charles University in Prague have developed a method for changing the swimming style of tiny artificial microswimmers in real time. They can make a single microscopic particle switch at will between modes of swimming inspired by bacteria and algae. The researchers have thus turned a property that was previously fixed during production into a programmable parameter. They believe their findings pave the way for an evolutionary approach to the development of synthetic active matter. Their study has now been published in Nature Communications.

Examining the Ethics of Laser Scanning in Tropical Forests

Whether on a windowpane at home or during the industrial cleaning of computer chips: Droplets sliding over solid surfaces become electrically charged. Yet the physical mechanism behind this charging remains a subject of debate to this day. This charging is usually attributed to the exchange of charged particles (ions) at the interface between the droplet and the surface. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research have now investigated two different types of liquids—so-called polar and nonpolar liquids—in both their liquid and frozen states. The researchers discovered that there is apparently at least one additional effect behind droplet charging.

The research findings of physicist Dr. Amr Farrag have been accepted for publication in the internationally renowned journal *Optica*. His work opens up new possibilities for ultrafast optical measurements and the development of high-performance light sources at room temperature.