We draw attention to the exceptional work of Geers et al. [(2024). IUCrJ, 11, https://doi.org/10.1107/S2052252524008583] on the analysis of magnetic phases, in which challenging magnetic structures are determined by a combination of modern computational methods and a connection between nuclear modulation and the ordering of magnetic moments is shown.

Scientists have uncovered a new way to explore the complex transformations of 2D nanomaterials. By using nanoscale vibrating membranes, they observed how mechanical and magnetic properties shift at extreme...

By Jordana Cepelewicz Each week Quanta Magazine explains one of the most important ideas driving modern research. This week, senior math writer Jordana Cepelewicz unpacks how randomness has become one...

Dynamic Kerr microscopy enables the tracking of the two-step melting of a magnetic skyrmion lattice from a two-dimensional solid through an intermediate hexatic regime to an isotropic liquid and provi...

An optical-tweezer-based nanorheometer is developed to quantify the viscoelasticity of biomolecular condensates and intracellular compartments in vivo during aging and mutations that cause nuclear env...

A symmetry guide for the secondary structural degrees of freedom and related physical properties generated by tilts of BX6 octahedra in perovskites is proposed.

Refinement of the hemimorphite crystal structure using single-crystal synchrotron X-ray diffraction data collected at high pressure revealed a structural phase transition into an incommensurately modulated structure, accompanied by the appearance of satellite reflections.

We show that the modulated phase transitions in solid solutions of [CH3NH3]CoxNi1−x(HCOO)3, with x = 0.25 (1), x = 0.50 (2) and x = 0.75 (3), can be tuned by the metal ratio, which offers the opportunity to consciously build molecular compounds with adjustable properties by doping metal sites.

A pressure-induced triclinic-to-monoclinic phase transition has been caught `in the act' in the course of a wider series of high-pressure synchrotron diffraction experiments conducted on a moderately photoluminescent gold(I) compound. Our experiments illustrate how conducting a fast series of experiments, enabled by modern equipment at synchrotrons, can lead to an inaccurate estimation of the actual pressure of a phase transformation.

The effect of hydrostatic pressure on the structure and dynamics of concentrated silica-PNIPAm (poly-N-isopropylacrylamide) nanogels reveals characteristics similar to those found in temperature-induced phase transitions. However, significant aging is seen in glass and gel samples, which is absent in the liquid state.