The summer season is at its peak, with millions of tourists visiting the Adriatic and the wider Mediterranean. Beaches are crowded, maritime traffic is more intense, and numerous vessels anchor daily in shallow bays. At the same time, wastewater and waste volumes increase, while engine noise, artificial lighting and damage to the seabed place additional pressure on a sea that is already warming as a result of climate change.

New research by scientists from the Ruđer Bošković Institute shows that charge transport in zeolites can be tuned by controlling particle size and water content. The findings open new opportunities for exploring their use in sustainable functional materials, for example in sensors and other systems where controlled ion transport is essential. 

The Ruđer Bošković Institute, IRB, as one of the key coordinators of the regional EIT Water CLC South centre, took part in Zadar in the first operational workshop of the European EIT Water community, which marked the beginning of a new phase in developing strategic guidelines, future programmes and innovation solutions for the protection of water, seas and marine ecosystems.

What happens to the world’s largest sea turtle during the 15 to 20 years it spends far from shore, beyond the reach of scientists’ eyes? That is precisely the question addressed by a new study led by Dr. Nina Marn of the Ruđer Bošković Institute and an international team of collaborators. Published in Marine Environmental Research, the study presents a computational model that, for the first time, reconstructs the entire life cycle of the leatherback sea turtle and reveals just how sensitive this species is to changes in the ocean.

At a session held on 16 February 2026, the Board of Governors of the Ruđer Bošković Institute (IRB), following consideration of the positive opinion of the Selection Committee and the unanimous decision of the IRB Scientific Council, confirmed a new four-year term for Dr. David M. Smith as Director General of IRB. This confirms continuity in the Institute’s leadership during a period of intensive infrastructure modernisation, strengthened international partnerships, and further connection of science with the needs of the economy and society.

Mechanochemistry, which drives chemical reactions by mechanical force, is increasingly used in materials synthesis and in sustainable “green” chemistry. It is carried out in an apparently simple way, by ball milling. Yet the most important part, what happens at the very moment when the balls collide with the particles, has remained beyond the reach of direct observation. A new study by an international team from the Ruđer Bošković Institute (RBI) and Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen–Nürnberg now provides an answer to that question, at the molecular level.

Croatia has become the regional hub of the European EIT Water Knowledge and Innovation Community, one of the European Union’s largest projects for protecting the sea and water, and developing the blue economy, as highlighted today at an event held at the University of Zadar. 

A collaboration between scientists from the Ruđer Bošković Institute’s Center for Marine Research and the Croatian company SeaCras has brought new insights into the Adriatic Sea mucilage phenomenon, which raised concern among residents and tourists in the middle of the peak season. The study was published in a leading scientific journal.

A team of scientists from the Ruđer Bošković Institute, IRB, and the Jožef Stefan Institute has presented a simple yet precise method to “release” and count metal nanoparticles from wastewater sludge.