Researchers have developed a new algae-based biochar material that shows remarkable ability to break down perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), one of the most persistent and hazardous members of the PFAS chemical family. The new material combines advanced nanotechnology with sustainable biomass resources and may provide a promising strategy for removing difficult contaminants from water.

Early cancer detection often relies on complex, invasive, and time-consuming staining procedures. A research team from Southeast University has developed a novel "label-free" biosensor that uses the physics of "band folding" to unlock high-density hidden electromagnetic modes in the sub-terahertz range. This technology creates a rich spectral fingerprint that can distinguish between normal cells and cancer cells of varying malignancy without chemical markers. By correlating macroscopic electromagnetic signals with microscopic cellular biomass density, this method offers a safe, rapid, and non-destructive path for future clinical cancer screening.

For the first time, a science team directly documented and extensively sampled a freshened water system beneath the ocean floor. This major discovery comes from the initial analyses of sediment cores recovered during an international scientific expedition led by Co-Chief Scientists Professor Brandon Dugan (Colorado School of Mines, Golden, USA) and Professor Rebecca Robinson (Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island, USA). The cores, retrieved from deep below the sea floor, are now being opened, analysed and sampled by the science team, during almost a month of intensive collaborative work at the University of Bremen. During January and February 2026 the expedition’s scientists are working side by side to uncover new insights into the formation, evolution, and significance of this newly documented subseafloor freshwater system.

The research group led by Professor Yijun Feng and Professor Ke Chen from Nanjing University reports a hybrid-phase strategy that unlocks broadband achromatic wavefront control for both circular polarizations. By combining Aharonov–Anandan and Pancharatnam–Berry geometric phases within a single-layer meta-atom, they enable independent phase and group delay design for the two spin channels, overcoming the spin-locked limitation of conventional achromatic metasurfaces. The team validates beam deflectors and metalenses in the 8–12 GHz band and presents terahertz designs for 0.8–1.2 THz, demonstrating a general dispersion-engineering route to compact, polarization-multiplexed meta-optics for broadband imaging and multi-spectral sensing. The study was published in PhotoniX on December 16, 2025.

Scientists developed a terahertz microscope that compresses terahertz light down to microscopic dimensions. This pinpoint of terahertz light can resolve quantum details in materials that were previously inaccessible. 

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.