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Mathematical model reveals why cracks sharpen during rapid rubber fracture

A research group from the University of Osaka, Zen University, and the University of Tokyo has mathematically uncovered the mechanism that causes crack tips to sharpen during the rapid fracture of rubber.

The bursting of balloons or tire blowouts is caused by rapid fracture, a phenomenon in which a small crack propagates instantaneously. During this process, the crack tip sharpens, accelerating the fracture. However, the reason behind this sharpening had long remained unexplained. Traditionally, it was believed to result from the material’s complex nonlinear effects.

The research group—comprising Hokuto Nagatakiya, a doctoral student; Shunsuke Kobayashi, assistant professor; and Ryuichi Tarumi, professor at the University of Osaka; along with Naoyuki Sakumichi, associate professor at Zen University and project associate professor at the University of Tokyo—has mathematically solved the problem of crack propagation. They derived equations that describe both the shape of the crack and the overall deformation of the material.

Exotic roto-crystals can break into individual fragments then reassemble themselves

It sounds bizarre, but they exist: crystals made of rotating objects. Physicists from Aachen, Düsseldorf, Mainz and Wayne State (Detroit, U.S.) have jointly studied these exotic objects and their properties. They easily break into individual fragments, have odd grain boundaries and evidence defects that can be controlled in a targeted fashion.

In an article published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the researchers outline how several new properties of such transverse interaction systems can be predicted by applying a comprehensive theory.

Transverse forces can occur in synthetic systems, such as in certain magnetic solids. They exist in systems of living organisms too, however. In an experiment observing a host of starfish embryos conducted at American university MIT, it was found that, through their swimming movements, the embryos influence each other in a manner leading them to rotate around one another.

Oxford Physicists Simulate Quantum “Light from Darkness” for the First Time

Scientists have created the first real-time 3D simulations of how lasers alter the quantum vacuum. Using cutting-edge computational modeling, scientists from the University of Oxford, in collaboration with the Instituto Superior Técnico at the University of Lisbon, have successfully produced the fi

CISA confirms hackers exploited Oracle E-Business Suite SSRF flaw

CISA has confirmed that an Oracle E-Business Suite flaw tracked as CVE-2025–61884 is being exploited in attacks, adding it to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.

BleepingComputer previously reported that CVE-2025–61884 is an unauthenticated server-side request forgery (SSRF) vulnerability in the Oracle Configurator runtime component, which was linked to a leaked exploit used in July attacks.

The US cybersecurity agency is now requiring federal agencies to patch the security vulnerability by November 10, 2025.

Over 75,000 WatchGuard security devices vulnerable to critical RCE

Nearly 76,000 WatchGuard Firebox network security appliances are exposed on the public web and still vulnerable to a critical issue (CVE-2025–9242) that could allow a remote attacker to execute code without authentication.

Firebox devices act as a central defense hub that controls traffic between internal and external networks, providing protection through policy management, security services, VPN, and real-time real-time visibility through WatchGuard Cloud.

Scans from The Shadowserver Foundation currently show that there are 75,835 vulnerable Firebox appliances across the world, most of them in Europe and North America.

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