A trio of physicists from the University of Rennes, Aoyama Gakuin University, and the University of Lyon have discovered, through experimentation, that it is friction between fibers that allows knitted fabrics to take on a given form. Jérôme Crassous, Samuel Poincloux, and Audrey Steinberger have attempted to understand the underlying mechanics involved in the forms of knitted garments. Their paper is published in Physical Review Letters.

Using the Very Large Array (VLA), an international team of astronomers have observed a nearby galaxy merger known as CIZA J0107.7+5408. Results of the observational campaign, presented December 20 on the preprint server arXiv, could help us better understand the merging processes that take place between galaxy clusters.

A newly identified dinosaur from southwestern China is revealing what appears to be the earliest-diverging ornithischian dinosaur in Asia. A multi-institution investigation in China has introduced the world to Archaeocursor asiaticus, and the research suggests an earlier dispersal event of ornithischians from Gondwana to Laurasia, independent of the migration of armored dinosaurs.

In the search for new materials that can enable more efficient electronics, scientists are exploring so-called 2D materials. These are sheets of just one atom thick, that may have all kinds of interesting electronic properties. If two sheets are placed on top of each other at specific angles, this may lead to new properties such as superconductivity. University of Groningen materials scientist Antonija Grubišić-Čabo and her colleagues studied such a "twisted" material and discovered that it defied theoretical predictions.

A new study by Tel Aviv University and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev reveals groundbreaking findings about the famous Rujm el-Hiri site (known as the "Wheel of Ghosts") in the Golan Heights. Based on geomagnetic analysis and tectonic reconstruction, the researchers determined that geodynamic movement over 150 million years, at an average rate of 8–15 mm per year, caused significant shifts in the ground, rotating and reorienting it over millennia.

In a breakthrough set to revolutionize the semiconductor industry, the School of Engineering of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has developed the world's first-of-its-kind deep-ultraviolet (UVC) microLED display array for lithography machines. This enhanced efficiency UVC microLED has showcased the viability of a lowered cost maskless photolithography through the provision of adequate light output power density, enabling exposure of photoresist films in a shorter time.

The amount of murdering and killing in movies has increased overall over the past 50 years, according to a study that analyzed a massive database of film dialogue.

Research led by Zhejiang Agriculture and Forestry University in China has performed a metadata investigation into the presence of microplastics in humans. They report a concerning relationship between micro and nanoplastic (MNP) concentrations in damaged tissues and links with multiple health conditions.

The Hades' snake moray (Uropterygius hades), a dark brown, slender snake moray eel, has chosen the road less traveled, thriving in dim and muddy river mouths, unlike most of its marine moray eel relatives. It is widely distributed across the Central Indo-Pacific, and has been found in southern Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, southern Java, and Fiji. This new moray eel was named after Hades, the god of the underworld, due to its unique habitat, burrowing behavior, high sensitivity to light, and most notably, its deep, dark coloration.

A research team led by Prof. Shen Yan'an from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) has made significant progress in studying the sources and formation mechanisms of haze. Through coal combustion experiments and high-precision sulfur isotope analysis, the researchers drew the conclusion that particulate matter from coal combustion is one of the main sources of haze in North China. The findings were published online in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on December 10.