Aurelia Butler

When Jayedi Aman looks at a city, he notices more than just its buildings and streets — he considers how people move through and connect with those spaces. Aman, an assistant professor of architectural studies at the University of Missouri, suggests that the future design of cities may be guided as much by human experience as by physical materials.
In a recent study, Aman and Tim Matisziw, a professor of geography and engineering at Mizzou, took a fresh approach to urban research by using artificial intelligence to explore the emotional side of city life. Their goal was to better understand the link between a city’s physical features and how people feel in those environments.
Using public Instagram posts with location tags, the researchers trained an AI tool to read the emotional tone of the images and text of the posts, identifying whether people were happy, frustrated or relaxed. Then, using Google Street View and a second AI tool, they analyzed what those places looked like in real life and linked those features to how people felt in the moment they posted to social media.
As a result, Aman and Matisziw created a digital “sentiment map” that shows what people are feeling across a city. Next, they plan to use this information to create a digital version of a city — called an urban digital twin — that can show how people are feeling in real time.
This kind of emotional mapping gives city leaders a powerful new tool. Instead of relying solely on surveys — which take time and may not reach everyone — this AI-powered method uses data people already share online.
“For example, if a new park gets lots of happy posts, we can start to understand why,” Aman, who leads the newly established Spatial Intelligence Lab at Mizzou, said. “It might be the green space, the quiet nature or the sense of community. We can now connect those feelings to what people are seeing and experiencing in these places.”
Beyond parks, this tool could help officials improve services, identify areas where people feel unsafe, plan for emergencies or check in on public well-being after disasters.
“AI doesn’t replace human input,” Matisziw said. “But it gives us another way to spot patterns and trends that we might otherwise miss, and that can lead to smarter decisions.”
The researchers believe this information about how people feel could one day be shown next to traffic and weather updates on digital tools used by leaders to make decisions about city operations.
“We envision a future where data on how people feel becomes a core part of city dashboards,” Aman said. “This opens the door to designing cities that not only work well but also feel right to the people who live in them.” More

National Institute for Materials Science, Japan. “Demonstration of spin-torque heat-assisted magnetic recording.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 21 May 2025. .
National Institute for Materials Science, Japan. (2025, May 21). Demonstration of spin-torque heat-assisted magnetic recording. ScienceDaily. Retrieved June 3, 2025 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/05/250521124447.htm
National Institute for Materials Science, Japan. “Demonstration of spin-torque heat-assisted magnetic recording.” ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/05/250521124447.htm (accessed June 3, 2025). More

An international research team, led by Akitoshi Shiotari of the Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society (Germany), Mariana Rossi of the Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter (Germany), and Takashi Kumagai of the Institute for Molecular Science/SOKENDAI (Japan) has successfully achieved single-molecule spectroscopic observation of hydrogen (H2) and deuterium (D2) confined within a picocavity. The picocavity was formed between a silver nanotip and a silver single-crystal substrate under cryogenic and ultrahigh vacuum conditions, using tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TERS).
In recent years, light-matter interactions within atomic-scale volumes, known as picocavities, have attracted growing attention in nanoscience and nanotechnology. The extremely confined electromagnetic field generated by plasmon resonance is now regarded as a promising platform for atomic-scale measurements and quantum photonic technologies.
In this study, the smallest molecule — hydrogen — was confined within a picocavity and investigated using high-resolution TERS. This enabled picometric molecular spectroscopy to resolve its vibrational and rotational modes with unprecedented detail, revealing how the structure and vibrational properties of a single molecule are affected by the extreme spatial confinement of the picocavity. Furthermore, by precisely adjusting the gap distance between the silver tip and the silver substrate, the subtle interaction with the molecule is modified. As a result, it was discovered that only the vibrational mode of H2, and not D2, exhibited a significant change, demonstrating a pronounced isotope-dependent effect — that could not be captured by ensemble-averaged Raman or other conventional vibrational spectroscopies.
To elucidate the origin of this nontrivial isotope effect, the team conducted theoretical simulations using density functional theory (DFT), path-integral molecular dynamics (PIMD), and model Hamiltonians. These calculations revealed that the spectroscopy is exquisitely sensitive to the local interaction potential experienced by the molecules, dominated by van der Waals interactions. Quantum delocalization of the nuclei — a quantum swelling effect at low temperatures — plays a decisive role in the observed differences, favoring distinct equilibrium positions for H2 and D2 in the picocavity, which lead to a substantial difference in their vibrational spectra. Dr. Rossi says, “We were surprised at how vibrational coupling and nuclear quantum effects work hand-in-hand to cause such a large isotope effect.”
Dr. Shiotari says, “This work deepens our understanding of light-molecule interactions and the quantum dynamics of adsorbed molecules in extremely confined spaces, representing a significant step forward in precision molecular spectroscopy.” Prof. Kumagai adds, “Looking ahead, the methods and insights developed here are expected to contribute to the advanced analysis of hydrogen storage materials and catalytic reactions, as well as to the development of quantum control technologies for individual molecules — thereby supporting next-generation nanoscale sensing and quantum photonic technologies.” More

Researchers have demonstrated that by using a semiconductor with flexible bonds, the material can be moulded into various structures using nano containers, without altering its composition, the discovery could lead to the design of a variety of customised electronic devices using only a single element.
Semiconductors are vital to our daily lives, as they are found in nearly every electronic device. One of the key characteristics of semiconductors is their band gap, which determines how they conduct electric current. The band gap is typically engineered for specific applications by breaking chemical bonds or introducing additional elements into the material. However, these processes can be complex and energy-intensive.
Researchers from the University of Nottingham, the EPSRC SuperSTEM facility, Ulm University in Germany, and BNNT LLC in the USA imaged new forms of selenium using transmission electron microscopy, employing nanotubes as tiny test tubes. The study has been published today in Advanced Materials.
Dr Will Cull, research fellow in School of Chemistry, Univesity of Nottingham, who carried out the experimental work, said, ‘Selenium is an old semiconductor with a rich history, having been used in the first solar cells. In our research, we have revitalised selenium by discovering new forms that can emerge when confined to the nanoscale.’
Selenium can exist as nanowires, with its structure and bonding varying by diameter. Below a certain size, the bonding between selenium atoms changes, increasing bond angles. This causes straightening of the initially helical structure, ultimately constricting it into atomically thin wires.
Dr Will Cull said, ‘We successfully imaged new forms of selenium using transmission electron microscopy, employing nanotubes as tiny test tubes. This approach allowed us to create a new phase diagram that connects the atomic structure of selenium to the diameter of the nanowires.’
The Nottingham group previously reported using nano test tubes to image chemical reactions of individual molecules and to observe phase transitions in semiconductors. This approach enables real-time filming of chemistry at the atomic level.

Dr Will Cull said, ‘To our astonishment, we observed that the nano test tube became thinner as we imaged it! Before our very eyes, we witnessed the selenium nanowire inside the nanotube being squeezed like toothpaste, stretching and thinning. This serendipitous discovery allowed us to establish mechanisms for the transformation of one type of nanowire to another, which have implications for their electronic properties, with near-atomic precision.’
The band gap is a crucial property of semiconductors that significantly impacts their use in various devices, including solar cells, transistors, and photocatalysts. Professor Quentin Ramasse, director of EPSRC SuperSTEM, said, ‘By utilising atomically resolved scanning transmission electron microscopy coupled with electron energy loss spectroscopy, we were able to measure the band gaps of individual chains of selenium. These measurements enabled us to establish a relationship between the diameter of these nanowires and their corresponding band gaps.’
Professor Quentin Ramasse said, ‘Traditionally, carbon nanotubes have been used as nano test tubes; however, their outstanding energy absorption properties can obscure the electronic transitions of the material inside. In contrast, a newer type of nano test tube, boron nitride nanotubes, is transparent, allowing us to observe the band gap transitions in selenium nanowires contained within them.’
The famous Moore’s Law states that the number of transistors on an integrated circuit doubles approximately every two years. As a result, electronic components must become smaller. Professor Andrei Khlobystov, School of Chemistry, University of Nottingham, said, ‘We have investigated the ultimate limit for nanowire size while preserving useful electronic properties. This is possible for selenium because the phenomenon of quantum confinement can be effectively balanced by distortions in the atomic structure, thus allowing the band gap to remain within a useful range.’
The researchers hope that these new materials will be incorporated into electronic devices in the future. Accurately tuning the band gap of selenium by changing the diameter of the nanowire could lead to the design of a variety of customised electronic devices using only a single element. More

Determining how strong your drink is doesn’t need to be either guesswork or lab work. New research has made it as simple as checking your messages — and more colorful, too.
Osaka Metropolitan University researchers have developed a smartphone-compatible alcohol sensor that can visually detect a full range of ethanol concentrations, without the need for complex electronics or lab tools. Their technology allows for a broad array of potential applications in environmental monitoring, healthcare, industrial processes, and alcohol breath analysis.
Ethanol is used widely in food, pharmaceuticals, and fuel. It is also the intoxicating ingredient in many alcoholic beverages. Accurate detection of ethanol concentration, particularly in products containing both ethanol and water, is crucial for product hygiene management and quality maintenance.
“Conventional sensors typically require power sources and complex electronics, limiting their accessibility for everyday use,” said Kenji Okada, an associate professor at Osaka Metropolitan University’s Graduate School of Engineering and lead author of this study.
Seeking both selectivity and practicality, the team fabricated a portable and highly sensitive ethanol sensor built from a copper-based metal-organic framework (MOF) thin film called Cu-MOF-74.
These MOFs contain nanometer-sized pores that absorb ethanol molecules and respond with a visible color change — a phenomenon known as solvato/vapochromism. Thanks to its low light-scattering properties and high transparency, the Cu-MOF-74 film enables precise optical measurements without the need for complex lab equipment.
“Our sensor changes color in response to varying ethanol levels across the full concentration range, even at low concentrations,” Okada said.

What truly sets this technology apart is its integration with a smartphone app. Users can simply snap a photo of the film to measure ethanol concentration, making it a portable and accessible tool for use in the field, factories, or healthcare settings.
The researchers’ findings offer a smarter, simpler, and more reliable approach to alcohol sensing. From the quality of your drink to the potential future of portable breath tests, this new sensor technology brings us a colorful step closer to real-time alcohol monitoring in everyday life.
“We hope our study could open up a wide range of applications, from the food and beverage industry to environmental monitoring, industrial exhaust gas detection and alcohol breath analysis,” Okada said.
The study was published in Small Science. More