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Researchers develop compact superradiant Smith-Purcell device with ultra-narrow linewidth

Superradiant Smith-Purcell radiation (S-SPR) is a kind of free electron radiation with a train of free electron bunches passing over a periodic grating. In theory, the ultra-narrow spectral linewidth of S-SPR could be realized, which would be greatly beneficial to various applications such as imaging, sensing and communication.

However, in the free electron accelerators, customized setups and orotrons, the instability of electron , coulomb effect and the finite number of electron bunches worsened the radiation linewidth, and the large size of equipment limits the application scenarios.

In a new paper published in eLight, a team of scientists, led by Professor Fang Liu and Yidong Huang from the Department of Electronic Engineering, Tsinghua University, China, have developed the first compact S-SPR device with ultra-narrow and continuously tunable spectral linewidth.

Unlocking the secrets of salt crystal formation at the nanoscale

In nature and technology, crystallization plays a pivotal role, from forming snowflakes and pharmaceuticals to creating advanced batteries and desalination membranes. Despite its importance, crystallization at the nanoscale is poorly understood, mainly because observing the process directly at this scale is exceptionally challenging. My research overcame this hurdle by employing state-of-the-art computational methods, allowing them to visualize atomic interactions in unprecedented detail.

Published in Chemical Science, my research has uncovered new details about how salt crystals form in tiny nanometer-sized spaces, which could pave the way for and improved electrochemical technologies.

This research used sophisticated enhanced by cutting-edge machine learning techniques to study how (NaCl), common table salt, crystallizes when confined between two graphene sheets separated by just a few billionths of a meter. These , known as nano-confinement, drastically alter how molecules behave compared to bulk, everyday conditions.

They Mapped Every Neuron in a Grain of Brain — And Revealed How We See

A massive, multi-year project led by over 150 scientists has produced the most detailed map yet of how visual information travels through the brain – revealing more than 500 million connections in a speck of mouse brain tissue.

Using glowing neurons, high-powered electron microscopes, and deep learning, researchers captured both the physical wiring and real-time electrical activity of over 200,000 brain cells. The resulting 1.6-petabyte dataset is not just a technological marvel – it brings us closer to answering age-old questions about how our brains turn light into vision and how brain disorders might arise when this system breaks.

Unraveling the Brain’s Visual Code.

Breakthrough Drug Restores Vision: Researchers Successfully Reverse Retinal Damage

Vision is one of the most important human senses, yet more than 300 million people around the world are at risk of losing it due to various retinal diseases. Although recent treatments have helped slow the progression of these conditions, no effective therapy has been able to restore vision that has already been lost, until now. Researchers at KAIST have developed a new drug that successfully restores vision.

On March 30, KAIST announced that a research team headed by Professor Jin Woo Kim from the Department of Biological Sciences has created a treatment that regenerates retinal nerves to restore vision.

How Scientists Are Tying Light in Midair to Send Messages Through Chaos

Light can tie knots—literally. Engineers at Duke University have managed to manipulate laser beams to form intricate 3D patterns called optical knots, using custom-designed optics.

These twisted beams could one day carry information or measure air turbulence, but researchers discovered that real-world conditions like turbulent air can distort them more than expected. To combat this, they modified the knot’s shape to make it more resilient, opening new paths for using light in surprising ways.

Light beams can tie knots too

Scientists Smashed Two Crystals — And Unlocked Double the Power From Heat

Scientists have found a clever way to double the efficiency of thermoelectric materials — those that convert heat into electricity — by mixing two substances with contrasting mechanical properties but similar electronic traits.

The result is a hybrid that blocks heat at microscopic interfaces while allowing electricity to flow freely, bringing us closer to cheaper, more stable alternatives to today’s gold-standard materials used in the Internet of Things and beyond.

Boosting thermoelectrics for the internet of things.

Quantum Sensors That Hear Magnetic Whispers — And Push Physics to Its Limit

Quantum magnetometers can detect incredibly small changes in magnetic fields by tapping into the strange and powerful features of quantum physics. These devices rely on the discrete nature and coherence of quantum particles—behaviors that give them a major edge over classical sensors. But how far can their sensitivity go? And what actually makes a magnetometer “quantum?”

A new study explores the theoretical boundaries of these devices, comparing multiple methods for defining their limits. The findings shed light not only on performance but also on what truly separates quantum sensors from their classical counterparts.

Quantum Magnetometers and Ultra-High Sensitivity.

Kimsuky Exploits BlueKeep RDP Vulnerability to Breach Systems in South Korea and Japan

Cybersecurity researchers have flagged a new malicious campaign related to the North Korean state-sponsored threat actor known as Kimsuky that exploits a now-patched vulnerability impacting Microsoft Remote Desktop Services to gain initial access.

The activity has been named Larva-24005 by the AhnLab Security Intelligence Center (ASEC).

“In some systems, initial access was gained through exploiting the RDP vulnerability (BlueKeep, CVE-2019–0708),” the South Korean cybersecurity company said. “While an RDP vulnerability scanner was found in the compromised system, there is no evidence of its actual use.”

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