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A study led by Professor Ginestra Bianconi from Queen Mary University of London, in collaboration with international researchers, has unveiled a transformative framework for understanding complex systems.

Published in Nature Physics, this paper establishes the new field of higher-order topological dynamics, revealing how the hidden geometry of networks shapes everything from brain activity to .

“Complex systems like the brain, climate, and next-generation artificial intelligence rely on interactions that extend beyond simple pairwise relationships. Our study reveals the critical role of higher-order networks, structures that capture multi-body interactions, in shaping the dynamics of such systems,” said Professor Bianconi.

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When superconductors were discovered in 1911, they astounded researchers with their ability to conduct electricity with no resistance. However, they could only do so at temperatures close to absolute zero. But in 1986, scientists discovered that cuprates (a class of copper oxides) were superconductive at a relatively warm −225°F (above liquid nitrogen)—a step toward the ultimate goal of a superconductor that could operate at close to room temperature.

Applications of such a superconductor include compact and portable MRI machines, levitating trains, long-range electrical transmission without power loss, and more resilient quantum bits for quantum computers. Unfortunately, cuprates are a type of ceramic material which makes their application at industrial scales difficult—their brittleness, for example, would pose problems.

However, if researchers could understand what makes them superconduct at such high temperatures, they could recreate such processes in other materials. Despite a great deal of research, though, there is still a lack of consensus on the microscopic mechanism leading to their unusual superconductivity, making it difficult to take advantage of their unusual properties.

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There is a big problem with quantum technology—it’s tiny. The distinctive properties that exist at the subatomic scale usually disappear at macroscopic scales, making it difficult to harness their superior sensing and communication capabilities for real-world applications, like optical systems and advanced computing.

Now, however, an international team led by physicists at Penn State and Columbia University has developed a novel approach to maintain special quantum characteristics, even in three-dimensional (3D) materials.

The researchers published their findings in Nature Materials.

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The limitations of two-dimensional (2D) displays in representing the depth of the three-dimensional (3D) world have prompted researchers to explore alternatives that offer a more immersive experience. Volumetric displays (VDs), which generate 3D images using volumetric pixels (voxels), represent a breakthrough in this pursuit.

Unlike or stereoscopic displays, VDs deliver a natural visual experience without requiring head-mounted devices or complex visual tricks. Among these, laser-based VDs stand out for their , high contrast ratios, and wide color gamut. However, the commercial viability of such systems has been hindered by challenges such as low resolution, ghost voxels, and the absence of tunable, full-color emission in a single material.

To address these limitations, researchers from Yildiz Technical University, led by Miray Çelikbilek Ersundu, and Ali Erçin Ersundu, have developed innovative RE3+-doped monolithic glasses (RE = Ho, Tm, Nd, Yb) capable of tunable full-color emission under near-infrared (NIR) laser excitation.

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Ever since physicist Ernest Rutherford discovered the atomic nucleus in 1911, studying its structure and behavior has remained a challenging task. More than a century later, even with today’s high-tech tools for researching nuclear physics, mysteries of the universe abound.

Relying on leading-edge detectors developed by researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the scientific community pursues elusive nuclear processes to unlock persistent mysteries. Answers to questions they hope to resolve hold the potential to redefine the universe itself. Why does the universe contain more matter than antimatter? Can a particle be both a matter and antimatter version of itself? Is there a mismatch between what the Big Bang produced and what the Standard Model of particle physics suggests?

Long at the vanguard of international efforts to answer questions like these, ORNL’s contributions remain strong today. David Radford, head of the lab’s Fundamental Nuclear and Particle Physics section, is an internationally renowned expert in the field who has had an indelible impact on the development of germanium detectors. Vital experimentation tools at the forefront of fundamental physics research, germanium detectors are large, single crystals of germanium—a metallic element—used to detect radiation and enable incredibly precise energy measurements.

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We say a message is incoherent when we can’t make it out, or when it doesn’t make sense. A scribbled note, a drunken argument or a conversation taking place five tables down in a crowded cafe might all be incoherent. In general, “coherent” means the opposite—consistent, connected, clear.

In science, the word coherence takes on more specific, mathematical definitions, but they all get at a similar concept: Something is coherent if it can be understood, if it forms a unified whole and if those first two qualities persist.

Scientists originally developed the concept of coherence to understand and describe the wave-like behavior of light. Since then, the concept has been generalized to other systems involving waves, such as acoustic, electronic and quantum mechanical systems.

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Finding the right lubricant for the right purpose is a task that is often extremely important in industry. Not only to reduce friction, overheating and wear, but also to save energy. At TU Wien, the research groups of Prof Carsten Gachot (Tribology, Mechanical Engineering) and Prof Dominik Eder (Chemistry) are therefore working together to develop innovative, improved lubricants.

The team has now presented a new type of material with special properties: The lubricant COK-47 is not liquid like lubricating oil, but a powdery solid substance. On a nanoscale, it consists of stacks of atomically thin sheets, like a tiny stack of cards.

When the material comes into contact with , these platelets can slide past each other very easily—a so-called tribofilm is created, which ensures extremely low . This makes COK-47 a highly interesting in .

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Researchers have developed a freely available droplet microfluidic component library, which promises to transform the way microfluidic devices are created. This innovation, based on low-cost rapid prototyping and electrode integration, makes it possible to fabricate microfluidic devices for under $12 each, with a full design-build-test cycle completed within a single day. The components are biocompatible, high-throughput, and capable of performing multistep workflows, such as droplet generation, sensing, sorting, and anchoring, all critical for automating microfluidic design and testing.

Microfluidics, particularly droplet-based systems, has become a promising technology for diverse fields, including protein engineering, single-cell sequencing, and nanoparticle synthesis. However, the traditional methods of fabricating —typically using PDMS (polydimethylsiloxane)—are time-consuming and costly, often requiring cleanroom facilities or external vendors.

While alternatives like laser cutting and 3D printing have been explored, these methods often suffer from limitations in resolution, material compatibility, and scalability. As a result, there has been an urgent need for a more efficient, cost-effective, and accessible fabrication method to help propel innovation in microfluidic technology.

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Placazoa like seem simple at first — a crawling sheet of cells. Yet on closer examination, they show remarkable complexity and startling capabilities!

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trichoplax)

adhaerens is one of the four named species in the phylum Placozoa. The others are Hoilungia hongkongensis, Polyplacotoma mediterranea and Cladtertia collaboinventa. Placozoa is a basal group of multicellular animals, possible relatives of Cnidaria. [ 2 ] are very flat organisms commonly less than 4 mm in diameter, [ 3 ] lacking any organs or internal structures. They have two cellular layers: the top epitheloid layer is made of ciliated “cover cells” flattened toward the outside of the organism, and the bottom layer is made up of cylinder cells that possess cilia used in locomotion, and gland cells that lack cilia. [ 4 ] Between these layers is the fibre syncytium, a liquid-filled cavity strutted open by star-like fibres.

Trichoplax feed by absorbing food particles—mainly microbes —with their underside. They generally reproduce asexually, by dividing or budding, but can also reproduce sexually. Though has a small genome in comparison to other animals, nearly 87% of its 11,514 predicted protein-coding genes are identifiably similar to known genes in other animals.

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