A team of researchers from the Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IFJ PAN), Jagiellonian University, and AGH University of Kraków has developed a switchable composite material that combines the remarkable properties of molecular magnets with the mechanical robustness and flexibility of polymer fibers. The paper was published in the journal Nanoscale.

How can scientists determine what is happening inside a nanoparticle thousands of times smaller than a human hair? In this case, the answer came from synchrotron radiation. An international team of researchers from Autonomous University of Madrid has developed multifunctional gold-iron nanoparticles with potential applications in medical imaging and light-based therapies. Using the ASTRA beamline at the SOLARIS National Synchrotron Radiation Centre, the team uncovered key details about the chemical structure of these promising nanomaterials.

A team of researchers from Poland and Portugal investigated cremated human remains recovered from prehistoric funerary urns discovered in northern Poland. Using, among other techniques, infrared spectroscopy at the CIRI beamline of the SOLARIS Centre, the scientists found that water availability within the urns played a key role in the chemical transformations occurring in bones after cremation. Their findings provide new insights into post-burial processes and contribute to a better understanding of ancient funerary practices.

Researchers from the University of Łódź, MSc Alicja Pełczyńska and Associate Professor Agnieszka Soszyńska, in collaboration with an international team of scientists from Poland, Ukraine, Germany, and Denmark, used synchrotron imaging to unravel the mystery of the extinct fly genus Kelneria, one of the most abundant inhabitants of the European amber forests approximately 40 million years ago. The findings were published in the journal Arthropod Systematics & Phylogeny.

Researchers from AGH University of Krakow have investigated a new class of organic–inorganic hybrid semiconductors for their potential application in energy-efficient electronic devices that mimic the functioning of the human brain. The results demonstrated that precise materials design enables control over their electrical properties and opens new opportunities for future memory technologies.