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Confirming altermagnetism: A geometric twist offers experimental proof

For decades, physicists recognized only two types of magnetism that occur in materials without external influence: ferromagnetism and antiferromagnetism. In findings published in Science, a team led by the U.S. Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory has delivered conclusive experimental proof of a third magnetic phase called altermagnetism.

“In the past few years, scientists have observed phenomena that don’t fit neatly into the ferromagnetism-antiferromagnetism dichotomy,” explained lead author Daniel Jost, associate scientist at SLAC and Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Sciences.

“Researchers have been compiling evidence of a third type of magnetism that bridges the qualities of these two classes. We believe our results provide robust experimental confirmation that this third phase—altermagnetism—is real.”

Scientists find that a 10-millisecond flash could help build more sensitive gas sensors

Nitrogen dioxide is a harmful gas that requires sensitive detection. Researchers used intense light pulses lasting 10 milliseconds to make molybdenum disulfide flakes and anchor isolated metal atoms in one step. Adding platinum improved the material’s room-temperature response to nitrogen dioxide, reaching 100.8% at 400 parts per billion and a detection limit of 17.2 parts per billion. This approach could support advanced gas sensors and applications in catalysis and energy technologies.

Many gas sensors detect gases through changes in a material’s electrical properties. Molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) is promising, but much of its surface is inactive. Its more reactive edges can be difficult to preserve during conventional heating, while added catalyst metals may clump together instead of remaining as individual atoms.

The research was jointly led by Professor Il-Doo Kim from Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and Assistant Professor Dong-Ha Kim from Hanyang University-ERICA as co-corresponding authors, with Dr. Euichul Shin from KAIST serving as the first author.

Scientists Use Light To Build a New Generation of Drug Molecules

A new light-powered chemical technique could give scientists more freedom to design drug molecules with complex three-dimensional shapes. Researchers at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) have developed a way to produce molecular structures that could serve as alternatives to benzene rings, which are widely used in medicines but can sometimes limit their properties.

Led by Professor Jian He from HKU’s Department of Chemistry, the team developed specialized copper(I) photosensitizers that use visible light to construct bicyclo[2.1.1]hexanes, or BCHs. Published in Nature Chemistry, the research addresses two major challenges in producing these structures: the limited range of compatible starting materials and unwanted chemical reactions that interfere with synthesis.

Syrian Hacker Behind Fake Tweet That Triggered $136 Billion Market Drop Gets 42 Months in Prison

Ahmad Umar Agha, a Syrian Electronic Army hacker known online as “Th3Pr0,” has been sentenced by a U.S. federal court to 42 months in prison for his role in a hacking conspiracy that targeted Western news outlets.

The conspiracy was organized and led by members of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s inner circle, including the commander of Syria’s General Intelligence Directorate, the U.S. Justice Department said on October 29.

The pro-Assad Syrian Electronic Army began its attacks in 2011. Its members sent phishing emails to steal employees’ passwords, then used those passwords to deface websites, redirect web traffic, and hijack social media accounts, according to a 2014 FBI affidavit.

Critical Linux kernel flaw allows remote root attacks on MPTCP servers

Security researchers at Anthropic have developed an exploit for a critical Linux kernel vulnerability that allows unauthenticated attackers to remotely execute commands as root on servers running Multipath TCP (MPTCP) listeners.

The flaw, tracked as CVE-2026–98432, also affects ordinary TCP connections, although remote code execution has not been publicly demonstrated on servers without an MPTCP listener.

Multipath TCP (MPTCP) is a TCP feature that lets a single connection use multiple network paths at the same time to improve performance and reliability. It is commonly used in environments where devices have multiple network connections, such as Wi-Fi and cellular networks.