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Narrow ultrasonic beam enables stable 3D levitation six times farther than before

Scientists have developed a new acoustic levitation technique using an ultrasonic beam capable of levitating and moving small objects in midair over distances of up to 40 cm (16 inches), six times farther than previously achieved using conventional methods. The study, carried out by a research team from the University of Tsukuba in Japan and the University of Bristol, was published in the journal Physical Review Letters.

Acoustic levitation is a technique that uses sound waves to suspend objects in midair without physical contact—meaning it has the potential to be beneficial for handling fragile materials, contamination-sensitive samples and hazardous substances.

Conventional acoustic levitation systems rely on sound waves generated within an enclosed space, but the new technique is the first time a single-sided design has demonstrated stable acoustic levitation in three dimensions.

High magnetic fields revive superconductivity in nickelates

Scientists from the National University of Singapore (NUS), in collaboration with Los Alamos National Laboratory in the United States, have uncovered that a class of nickel-based materials known as samarium (Sm)-based infinite-layer nickelates can regain their superconducting ability under strong magnetic fields. This behavior could open a promising pathway toward superconducting technologies that can operate under extreme magnetic conditions.

Superconductivity, the ability of certain materials to conduct electricity without resistance, is typically destroyed by strong magnetic fields. However, a research team led by Professor Ariando from the Department of Physics at NUS, working with scientists from Los Alamos National Laboratory, has shown that Sm-based infinite-layer nickelates defy this expectation.

In these nickelates, superconductivity is first suppressed at low magnetic fields of a few tesla, only to reappear as the field increases, persisting beyond 60 tesla (hundreds of thousands of times stronger than Earth’s magnetic field). This unusual behavior, known as reentrant superconductivity, has previously been observed only in materials with very low transition temperatures, limiting their practical relevance.

Ramped fields create more robust entanglement between trapped-ion qubits

While quantum computing could be the future, it is currently plagued by finicky hardware. To make the technology practical, researchers must demonstrate that it consistently and continuously works and performs at scale. In a new study, published in Physical Review Letters, researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and the Ion Storage Group at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Boulder, Colorado, created a robust process for entangling trapped-ion qubits. The result means better building blocks for ion-based quantum computers.

The approach creates a physical link between two trapped ions. Those ions are held in place with an electric field, although they do vibrate naturally. Because they have the same charge, they also repel each other. If one ion moves, it nudges its neighbor.

That shared motion can be used as a messenger between the qubits. In this experiment, the team used radio-frequency and microwave electromagnetic fields to apply a force to the ions. In different quantum states—say, when the qubit is pointing up versus down—the force pushes the shared-ion motion in a slightly different way.

Scientists Reveal How Cells Tame One of Biology’s Most Dangerous Metals

Polyamines may protect cells from toxic iron buildup by keeping reactive iron under control.

Iron keeps cells alive, but when too much of it remains chemically reactive, the same metal can become destructive. Excess free iron can drive reactions that damage DNA, proteins, and cell membranes, creating a problem cells must constantly control.

Whitehead Institute Member Ankur Jain, former postdoc Whitney Henry, and graduate student Pushkal Sharma have identified an unexpected part of that protective system: small molecules known as polyamines.

Scientists Find a Clue to Making Brain Stimulation More Reliable

The brain’s activity immediately before stimulation may help predict its response and improve the consistency of neuromodulation.

The same brain stimulation can produce very different responses depending on when it is delivered.

A study published in Brain Stimulation, using detailed brain recordings hosted by EBRAINS, suggests that the brain’s activity immediately before stimulation can explain much of this variation and may eventually help make neuromodulation therapies more dependable.

Researchers Solve Two Major Problems Holding Back SiC Electronics

A new bottom gate design takes advantage of the intrinsic properties of SiC.

For more than 20 years, silicon carbide – SiC – has been viewed as a promising material for electronics that must function in extreme environments. Yet despite years of research, that promise has rarely translated into practical devices. Researchers at Kyoto University are now trying to move the field beyond that barrier.

“We believe the lack of development is because the research community has been trying to apply silicon-era thinking to a fundamentally different material,” says first author Mitsuaki Kaneko.

Physicists Hunted a Mysterious Particle — and Found Two Unexpected Structures Instead

A first attempt to produce a mysterious strangeonium state using a photon beam yielded important and unexpected results.

Physicists have spent decades trying to organize the growing collection of subatomic particles, yet some of the most unusual discoveries still resist simple classification. At the U.S. Department of Energy’s Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, researchers have now detected evidence for two unexpected structures that could help clarify this increasingly complicated landscape.

The signals may shed light on a puzzling class of particles called XYZ states. These objects do not fit comfortably within the conventional picture of particles built from quarks, the elementary constituents of matter. For the first time at Jefferson Lab, two such signals were observed when a beam of high-energy photons struck a proton target.

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