A team of researchers from Peking University, Beijing Institute of Technology, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences has developed a new optical device capable of asymmetrically transmitting and transforming images in two opposite directions. Dubbed the “Janus meta-imager,” the device is based on diffractive deep neural networks (D²NNs) and metasurfaces, and operates without external power or nonlinear materials. Unlike conventional asymmetric imaging systems that rely on active components or limited unidirectional functions, the Janus meta-imager can perform different imaging tasks in forward and backward directions. For example, in simulations, ...

Early detection and accurate typing of cancer are critical for improving patient survival rates. While traditional pathology remains the gold standard, it often requires complex sample processing and chemical staining. In a study published in the journal PhotoniX, researchers from the State Key Laboratory of Millimeter Waves at Southeast University and the Zhongda Hospital of Southeast University have unveiled a new "label-free" screening method. They have developed a sub-terahertz biosensor that leverages the physical ...

Antioxidants have been marketed as miracle supplements, touted for preventing chronic diseases and cancers; treating COPD and dementia; and slowing aging. While antioxidant therapies are widely used to treat male infertility, a new study from the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (VMBS) found that regularly consuming high doses of antioxidants negatively influences sperm DNA and may lead to offspring born with differences in craniofacial development. In a study, published in the journal Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology, a team of researchers led by Dr. ...

Results from the largest-ever clinical trial of its kind found administering a synthetic protein can reduce bleeding and improve outcomes for certain patients at the highest risk of continued bleeding following a type of stroke called an intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). The University of Cincinnati’s Joseph Broderick, MD, presented results from the FASTEST trial at the International Stroke Conference on Feb. 4. Findings were additionally published in The Lancet, with Broderick serving as corresponding author. An ICH occurs when a blood vessel bursts inside the brain and causes ...

Quantum-enhanced measurement schemes promise sensitivities beyond the shot noise limit, but their practical implementation in atomic systems has long been hindered by optical loss and decoherence. In particular, squeezed states of light—one of the most accessible quantum resources—are extremely fragile when interacting with resonant atomic media, where absorption and scattering rapidly degrade their noise suppression advantage. In this work, researchers report the first realization of a Rydberg electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) system operating in the quantum regime, where optical readout noise is reduced below the shot noise limit using a squeezed ...

Broadband achromatic wavefront control, a cornerstone of next-generation photonic systems that supports full-color imaging, multi-spectral sensing, has seen important progress reported in PhotoniX by the research group led by Professor Yijun Feng and Professor Ke Chen from Nanjing University. They proposed a hybrid-phase cooperative dispersion-engineering strategy that combines Aharonov–Anandan (AA) and Pancharatnam–Berry (PB) geometric phases in a single-layer metasurface to unlock independent, dual-spin achromatic wavefront control. Dispersion ...

Accurate gas detection is a cornerstone of energy security, environmental monitoring, and medical diagnosis. However, developing a miniaturized device that achieves both high selectivity (distinguishing specific gases) and high sensitivity (detecting trace amounts) has long presented a significant challenge. Traditional spectroscopic methods often struggle to identify complex gas mixtures without relying on bulky equipment or broad spectral bandwidths. Research group at the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (UESTC) has achieved a major breakthrough in this field. Published in the journal PhotoniX, their study introduces ...

Bar Harbor, Maine — As people age, muscles naturally lose mass and strength, a condition known as sarcopenia. The decline can make everyday activities harder and increases the risk of falls, disability and early death. At the moment, the best defense is regular exercise throughout our lives, as effective treatments to slow or prevent muscle atrophy are limited. Progress has been slowed in part because in most vertebrates, aging unfolds over many years, making it difficult for biomedical researchers to study quickly in the laboratory. Now, MDI Biological Laboratory Associate Professor Romain Madelaine, ...

A key molecular mechanism drives the growth of liver cell cancer while simultaneously suppressing the body's immune response to the tumor. This has now been published in the journal Nature by a team led by researchers from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), the University Hospital of Tübingen, and the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute in La Jolla, California. However, the results also show that this very mechanism could help identify patients who respond particularly well to immunotherapy in the future, thus opening up new therapeutic approaches. Liver cell cancer is particularly difficult to treat ...

MADISON — Parts of the ancient Earth may have formed continents and recycled crust through subduction far earlier than previously thought. New research led by scientists at the University of Wisconsin–Madison has uncovered chemical signatures in zircons, the planet’s oldest minerals, that are consistent with subduction and extensive continental crust during the Hadean Eon, more than 4 billion years ago. The findings challenge models that have long considered Earth's earliest times as dominated by a rigid, unmoving ...

Researchers from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) and the Institute of Neurophysiology at Uniklinik RWTH Aachen in Germany have deciphered the molecular signature of so-called sleeping nociceptors—a type of pain-sensing nerve cell that normally remains quiet and does not respond to touch or pressure, but can become overactive and drive chronic pain. The findings will be published on Wednedsay, February 4 in the renowned scientific journal Cell. Approximately ten percent of the population lives with neuropathic (nerve-related) pain, which is frequently associated with abnormal activity of sleeping nociceptors. ...

About The Study: In this systematic review and meta-analysis of equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) initiatives in health care institutions, programs were associated with an increased workforce diversity. These findings support the continued use of EDI initiatives to promote a more inclusive and equitable health care culture. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Manish M. Sood, MD, MSc, email Msood@toh.on.ca. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.55896) Editor’s ...

About The Study: In this study, semaglutide for the secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease was effective but meeting conventional cost-effectiveness thresholds will require additional price reductions. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Dhruv S. Kazi, MD, MSc, MS, email dkazi@bidmc.harvard.edu. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamacardio.2025.5243) Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other ...

About The Study: In this randomized clinical trial, a ketogenic diet had antidepressant benefits compared with a well-matched control diet at 6 weeks. However, the clinical relevance is uncertain, as the mean effect size compared with the control was modest and not evident in secondary analyses.  Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Min Gao, PhD, email min.gao@phc.ox.ac.uk. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2025.4431) Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, ...

Cambridge, Mass. -- You can tell a lot about a material based on the type of light you shine at it: Optical light illuminates a material’s surface, while X-rays reveal its internal structures and infrared captures a material’s radiating heat.  Now, MIT physicists have used terahertz light to reveal inherent, quantum vibrations in a superconducting material, which have not been observable until now.  Terahertz light is a form of energy that lies between microwaves and infrared radiation on the electromagnetic spectrum. It oscillates over a trillion times ...

Parkinson’s disease, a progressive neurological disorder affecting more than 1 million people in the U.S. and more than 10 million globally, is characterized by debilitating symptoms such as tremors, movement difficulties, sleep disturbances and cognitive impairments. While current treatments, including long-term medication and invasive deep brain stimulation (DBS), can alleviate symptoms, they cannot halt progression or cure the disease. A new international study led by China’s Changping Laboratory, in collaboration with Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis ...

Keeping up with the latest research is vital for scientists, but given that millions of scientific papers are published every year, that can prove difficult. Artificial intelligence systems show promise for quickly synthesizing seas of information, but they still tend to make things up, or “hallucinate.”  For instance, when a team led by researchers at the University of Washington and The Allen Institute for AI, or Ai2, studied a recent OpenAI model, GPT-4o, they found it fabricated 78-90% of its research citations. And general-purpose AI models like ChatGPT often can’t access papers that were ...

University of Toronto researchers have expanded our understanding of bacterial immunity with the discovery of a new protein that can both sense and counteract viral infections. In the new study, published today in Nature, researchers from U of T’s Temerty Faculty of Medicine describe how a single protein named Rip1 recognizes bacteriophages, the viruses that infect bacteria, and cause infected bacteria to die prematurely, thereby ending the chain of transmission. “There are a lot of parallels between our immune system and bacterial ...

Gene regulation is far more predictable than previously believed, scientists conclude after developing deep learning model PARM. This might bring an end to a scientific mystery: how genes know when to switch on or off. Today, scientists publish in Nature about their relentless back-and-forth between lab experiments and computation that enabled them to build this lightweight model. Scientists around the world can now start using this tool for reading these genetic instructions, creating leads for new cancer diagnostics, patient stratification, and future therapies. “The ...

UVA Comprehensive Cancer Center scientists have identified a molecule that blocks the gene responsible for glioblastoma, raising hopes that the molecule could become a much-needed new treatment for the deadliest brain cancer.  Researcher Hui Li, PhD, previously discovered the “oncogene” responsible for glioblastoma, a cancer for which there are no treatments that extend life for more than a few months. In his follow-up work, published in Science Translational Medicine, Li reports the identification of a small molecule that blocked the gene’s activity in both cell samples and lab mice. In mice, ...

Did you skip your last high school reunion? If so, you may want to reconsider when the next anniversary rolls around. The experience could lead to increased feelings of gratitude, according to a new study led by Jeffrey Green, Ph.D., a professor of psychology in Virginia Commonwealth University’s College of Humanities and Sciences. That’s because engaging in nostalgic experiences – or even just listening to nostalgic music, or drifting into a nostalgic reverie – can strengthen feelings of social connection, ...

Researchers studying the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum have discovered a previously unknown stage in its life cycle that appears to be crucial for reproduction. This is important because malaria depends on the parasite’s rapid ability to multiply inside the human body, so stopping its reproduction could help prevent severe disease and save lives. Using a new live-imaging method, the team found that before the parasite can divide, a key structure inside the cell must reshape into a “Crown” form and connect to the cell’s nucleus. This ...

SAN ANTONIO — February 4, 2026 — Dr. Stephen Fuselier has been appointed as vice president of the Space Science Division of Southwest Research Institute (SwRI). A noted heliophysicist, Fuselier recently served as the co-chair of the National Academies of Solar and Space Physics Decadal Survey. NASA uses its recommendations to identify and prioritize the scientific questions and necessary observations required to answer them over the next 10 years. “I’m thrilled to lead SwRI’s Space Science Division,” Fuselier said. ...

New York, NY — The American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR) is pleased to announce the release of silverlinings.bio, an interactive report and simulation tool developed by AFAR Scholar-in-Residence Raiany Romanni-Klein, PhD, with support from AFAR, the Amaranth Foundation, and the Methuselah Foundation. Dr. Romanni-Klein spent the last two years working with a team of economists from Harvard, the Abundance Institute, and the University of Southern Carolina to develop an interactive simulation tool with returns on investments (ROI) for specific research & development (R&D) advancements in aging science ...

Chemicals brought in to help protect our ozone layer have had the unintended consequences of spreading vast quantities of a potentially toxic ‘forever chemical’ around the globe, a new study shows. Atmospheric scientists, led by researchers at Lancaster University, have for the first time calculated that CFC replacement chemicals and anaesthetics are behind around a third of a million tonnes (335,500 tonnes) of a persistent forever chemical called trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) being deposited from the atmosphere across the Earth’s surface between the years 2000 and 2022. And the rate ...