Two of the participants met the definition of partial success at 12 and 18 months, and the overall success of CALEC was 93% at 12 months and 92% at 18 months. Three participants received a second corneal CALEC transplant, of which one experienced complete success by the end check-up visit of the study.

Additional analysis of the impact of CALEC on vision showed varying levels of improvement of visual acuity in all 14 of the participants. The corneal procedure displayed a high safety profile with no adverse events occurring. However, one participant had a bacterial infection eight months after transplant due to chronic contact lens use. Any other adverse events were minor and were resolved quickly.

The CALEC trial is the first human study of a stem cell therapy to be funded by the National Eye Institute (NEI) branch of the NIH. However, the CALEC procedure remains an experimental procedure and it is not offered at Mass Eye and Ear or at any other hospital in America. Mass General Brigham’s Gene and Cell Therapy Institute will be conducting additional randomized-control design studies including a larger number of participants at multiple centers, with longer follow-ups before this treatment will be submitted for federal approval.

Quantum systems don’t just transition between phases—they do so in ways that defy classical intuition.

A new experiment has directly observed these “dissipative phase transitions” (DPTs), revealing how quantum states shift under carefully controlled conditions. This breakthrough could unlock powerful new techniques for stabilizing quantum computers and sensors, making them more resilient and precise than ever before.

Quantum phase transitions: a new frontier.

Factors like your income and how much sleep you get are more predictive of how long you’ll live than genes, an Oxford study found.

A quantum processor solved a problem in 20 minutes that would take a supercomputer millions of years. A supercomputer then did a part of it in about 2 hours.

This innovation, called ALA-CART, helps the immune system better recognize and destroy resistant cancers. The new design not only improves treatment success but also promises fewer side effects.

A Powerful Upgrade to CAR-T Therapy

Researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus have developed an enhanced version of CAR-T cell therapy designed to improve effectiveness and longevity, particularly against cancer cells that were previously difficult to detect and eliminate.

Scientists have achieved their initial goal of converting light into a supersolid material that unites solid-stage characteristics with those of superfluids. The discovery establishes paths toward studying uncommon quantum nature states of matter while carrying great implications for technological growth.

The matter form known as a supersolid behaves as both a solid and shows the properties of a superfluid. Despite keeping its rigid arrangement, the material demonstrates smooth flow while remaining non-frictional. Theoretical research on supersolids as a matter state has continued for decades since scientists first considered them in the 1970s. Through precise conditions, scientists believe materials can develop combined solid and superfluid properties to produce an absolute natural anomaly.

The discovery shows how particular materials become supple when exposed to exceptionally cold temperatures because they transition into a viscosity-free state. The dual properties of rigidness combined with fluidity create an extraordinary phase called supersolid in matter. Traditional materials possess two distinct states because solids maintain their shape, yet liquids possess free movement. Supersolids demonstrate behaviour beyond normal fluid-solid definitions because they exhibit features of both states.

A study conducted by researchers from the University of São Paulo sheds light on new discoveries about the mechanisms of oxidative phosphorylation in ATP production. Recent findings highlight the involvement of sodium in mitochondrial respiration.

In an article published in Trends in Biochemical Sciences, Alicia Kowaltowski, a full professor at the University of São Paulo’s Institute of Chemistry (IQ-USP) in Brazil, calls for a “rewriting” of textbooks regarding the location of the electron transport chain in mitochondria and the role of sodium in mitochondrial respiration.

Kowaltowski is also a member of the Research Center for Redox Processes in Biomedicine (Redoxoma), a Research, Innovation, and Dissemination Center (RIDC) funded by FAPESP and based at IQ-USP.

Four minutes. Imagine what you can accomplish in four minutes. Make coffee? Read half an article? Send a few text messages?

For most of us, four minutes pass in a heartbeat. Yet during those same four minutes, a quantum computer recently performed calculations that would have kept a conventional supercomputer busy for 2.6 billion years.

Scientists achieved something magical—compressing billions of years of computation into minutes. Such power shifts our understanding of what’s possible. Quantum computing won’t just change how we process information; it will transform medicine, climate science, materials design, and countless other fields we rely on daily.

Several physicists say the lack of a peer-reviewed, detailed paper on Microsoft’s work undermines its claims. The tech community is also skeptical.

Join our free newsletter for weekly updates on the latest innovations improving our lives and shaping our future, and don’t miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.

First appeared on The Cool Down.