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New perspectives on light-matter interaction: How virtual charges influence material responses

Understanding what happens inside a material when it is hit by ultrashort light pulses is one of the great challenges of matter physics and modern photonics. A new study published in Nature Photonics and led by Politecnico di Milano reveals a hitherto neglected but essential aspect, precisely the contribution of virtual charges, charge carriers that exist only during interaction with light, but which profoundly influence the material’s response.

The research, conducted in partnership with the University of Tsukuba, the Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter, and the Institute of Photonics and Nanotechnology (CNR-IFN) investigated the behavior of monocrystalline diamonds subjected to lasting a few attoseconds (billionths of a billionth of a second), using an advanced technique called attosecond-scale transient reflection spectroscopy.

By comparing with state-of-the-art , researchers were able to isolate the effect of so-called virtual vertical transitions between the electronic bands of the material. Such an outcome changes the perspective on how light interacts with solids, even in hitherto attributed only to the movement of actual charges.

Physicists just found a way to make “something from nothing”

Researchers at UBC have found a way to mimic the elusive Schwinger effect using superfluid helium, where vortex pairs appear out of thin films instead of electron-positron pairs in a vacuum. Their work not only offers a cosmic laboratory for otherwise unreachable phenomena, but also changes the way scientists understand vortices, superfluids, and even quantum tunneling.

In 1951, physicist Julian Schwinger theorized that by applying a uniform electrical field to a vacuum, electron-positron pairs would be spontaneously created out of nothing, through a phenomenon called quantum tunneling.

The problem with turning the matter-out-of-nowhere theory into Star Trek replicators or transporters? Enormously high electric fields would be required — far beyond the limits of any direct physical experiments.

Unique pan-cancer immunotherapy destroys tumors without attacking healthy tissue

A new, highly potent class of immunotherapeutics with unique Velcro-like binding properties can kill diverse cancer types without harming normal tissue, University of California, Irvine cancer researchers have demonstrated.

A team led by Michael Demetriou, MD, Ph.D., has reported that by targeting cancer-associated complex carbohydrate chains called glycans with binding proteins, they could penetrate the protective shields of tumor cells and trigger their death without toxicity to surrounding tissue.

Their biologically engineered immunotherapies—glycan-dependent T cell recruiter (GlyTR, pronounced ‘glitter’) compounds, GlyTR1 and GlyTR 2—proved safe and effective in models for a spectrum of cancers, including those of the breast, colon, lung, ovaries, pancreas and prostate, the researchers report in the journal Cell.

Childhood stress strongly linked to chronic disease in adulthood, researchers report

Research published by Duke University researchers has found a strong link between higher stress in children and adverse health conditions for them later in life. Appearing in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the study used measurable metrics of health over time to create a more quantitative view of how stress early in life affects health.

“We’ve had an idea for a long time, since the ’80s at least, that when children have adversity in their lives, it affects how their bodies work, not just psychologically, but also physiologically. It gets underneath the skin, and it becomes embodied in the way your body handles stress,” said co-author Herman Pontzer, Duke professor of evolutionary anthropology and global health.

Researchers focused on (AL), which refers to the wear and tear on the body because of chronic stress. The researchers “tested associations between childhood AL and adult cardiometabolic health,” relying on biomarkers that included antibodies of C-reactive protein, which is a marker of inflammation in the body; and the Epstein-Barr virus, which is common and highly contagious; body mass index; and .

New protein interaction map sheds light on how brain cell communication breaks down in Alzheimer’s disease

A new study led by the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai offers one of the most comprehensive views yet of how brain cells interact in Alzheimer’s disease, mapping protein networks that reveal communication failures and point to new therapeutic opportunities.

Published online in Cell, the study analyzed in brain tissue from nearly 200 individuals.

The researchers discovered that disruptions in communication between neurons and supporting called glia—specifically astrocytes and microglia—are closely linked to the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. One protein in particular, called AHNAK, was identified as a top driver of these harmful interactions.

“This Appears To Be A Universal Law”: 50-Year-Old Mystery About Our Sun’s Storms May Have Been Solved

For around half a century, scientists have been puzzled by the odd spectral lines produced by solar flares. Now we may have some answers. Anew study looking at solar flares may have solved a 50-year-old mystery about our host star, finding that solar flares may be far hotter than we realized.

Functional connectomics reveals general wiring rule in mouse visual cortex

The MICrONS mouse visual cortex dataset shows that neurons with similar response properties preferentially connect, a pattern that emerges within and across brain areas and layers, and independently emerges in artificial neural networks where these ‘like-to-like’ connections prove important for task performance.

Study of the world’s longest-lived person reveals rare genes and good bacteria are among the keys to a long life

What is the secret of supercentenarians? While there is no magical “elixir of life” that allows us to live forever, this incredibly rare group of people who live to be 110 years or older appears to have some biological advantage. To identify the factors that underlie extreme longevity, scientists conducted a comprehensive study of Maria Branyas, who was the world’s oldest verified living person at the time of the study.

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