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Asymmetric spin torque unlocks deterministic control of antiferromagnetic memory

A research team led by Prof. Shao Dingfu from the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, has proposed a universal mechanism that enables deterministic electrical control of collinear antiferromagnets—overcoming a long-standing bottleneck in antiferromagnetic spintronics. The study is published in Physical Review Letters.

Palm-sized superconducting magnet achieves 42 tesla, rivaling the world’s biggest

When we think of powerful magnets used in particle accelerators or for NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance), we often envision bulky machines, sometimes the size of buildings. But in an extraordinary breakthrough for physics, scientists at ETH Zurich have created magnets that are small enough to fit in the palm of your hand yet powerful enough to rival some of the world’s most powerful magnets.

Fantastic fungi found with ability to freeze water

Can fungi influence the weather? Turns out, they just might. An international group of researchers that includes Virginia Tech’s Xiaofeng Wang and Boris A. Vinatzer discovered the identity of fungal proteins that can catalyze ice formation at high subzero temperatures. The research is published in Science Advances. One potential application of this discovery could be to engineer weather.

Seeing global trade through the lens of physics

New research from the Complexity Science Hub (CSH) shows why widely used algorithms for measuring economic complexity produce trustworthy results and how these tools may benefit diverse areas such as ecology, social science, and agentic AI. The paper is published in the journal Physical Review E.

Cell death’s ‘beautiful’ rings have implications for biological resilience and immunity

Researchers at the University of Michigan have revealed that cells use a previously unknown feat of molecular craftsmanship to help protect their larger host organisms. The building blocks required for this work are found across the tree of life, meaning this finding could help better understand and support plant resilience and human immune response, the researchers said.

Bioinspired event camera tracks full vibration trajectory using geometry

Researchers at University of Tsukuba have developed a noncontact vibration measurement method using an event camera, a sensing technology inspired by biological vision. By applying geometric analysis to event-stream data, the team succeeded in reconstructing vibrations—an achievement that had posed substantial challenges using an event camera.

How much do nontargeted analyses really see? A model maps chemical blind spots

In a study published in Analytical Chemistry, researchers from the University of Amsterdam’s Van ‘t Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences (HIMS) reveal a sobering reality regarding nontargeted chemical analysis. Although widely used for screening the environment for chemicals, this concept isn’t nearly as broad as its name suggests, leaving massive blind spots in the data.

Local droplet etching yields more symmetric quantum dots for integrated photonics

Light-based quantum technologies, such as quantum communication and photonic quantum computing, require reliable sources of individual photons and, ideally, pairs of entangled photons. Semiconductor quantum dots are promising candidates for this purpose. These nanostructures have electrical conductivity between that of insulators and conductors and are capable of confining electrons and holes. This property causes them to emit light at well-defined frequencies when excited by a laser.

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