Data involving angles can be found across a diverse array of scientific fields, but so far, the mathematical tools used to study them have often proved insufficient to detect the complex relationships between different angles within large datasets. Through its research, a team consisting of Professor Christophe Ley and Sophia Loizidou from the University of Luxembourg, Professor Shogo Kato from the Institute of Statistical Mathematics in Tokyo, and Professor Kanti Mardia from the University of Leeds, has developed a new model which overcomes many of these challenges: allowing the researchers to study relationships between three angles at once, as well as mixtures of angles and classical measurements on the line.

For decades, works of science fiction have explored how the universe’s most fundamental speed limit could be broken by warping the fabric of spacetime. Through his experiments, Dr. Chance Glenn, founder of Morningbird Space Corporation, believes he may have discovered how spacetime can be distorted by extreme electric fields, which can be easily created in the lab. If his theory is correct, it would mean that the concept of ‘warp drives’ which allow us to travel at faster than the speed of light could be more feasible than we once thought.

Dimpled surfaces offer a useful and easily implementable way to reduce friction between lubricated surfaces as they slide over each other. Through cutting-edge simulations, Dr. Robert Tomkowski and colleagues at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden explore how the microscale structures of surface dimples can be optimized to minimize friction. Their findings could help to reduce wear in mechanical systems, while also making them more energy efficient.

As an inherently brittle material, concrete often needs to be replaced after just a few decades: driving a demand which incurs significant costs for Earth’s climate. Through their research, Professors Suzanne Scarlata and Nima Rahbar at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Massachusetts, introduce a new mechanism that allows concrete to quickly repair itself, with the help of an enzyme vital to the function of living cells. This approach could help to reduce the world’s insatiable demand for concrete.

In principle, travelling wave reactors offer a safe, highly efficient approach to generating nuclear power. However, development has been held back by a variety of challenges linked to the need for extensively high burn-up in the reactor core, meaning very high rates of generated energy which can damage the reactor. Inspired by the principles of Tai-Chi, a team led by Di Yun from Xi’an Jiaotong University has shown that with the right approach, a high temperature operation, usually deemed as a threat, can be transformed into useful advantages, bringing the practical rollout of travelling wave reactors one step closer to reality.

Studying single molecules provides researchers with unique insights into biological mechanisms and processes and allows them to visualise microscopic structural and functional differences. However, results can be unpredictable, and investigations are labour-intensive and expensive, often requiring extensive training and highly specialised laboratory equipment. Dr Rishabh Shetty and colleagues at Arizona State University, the California Institute of Technology, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA, have recently developed a simplified single-molecule assessment technique to overcome these limitations with a view to increasing accessibility and precision in molecular-level research.