The gas orbiting Sagittarius A (Sgr A*), the supermassive black hole at the centre of the Milky Way galaxy, is rich in metals, researchers at McGill University’s Trottier Space Institute have found. The metal enrichment probably resulted from stars that exploded and released material into the black hole's surroundings over time, they said.  

Improving X-ray imaging under photon-starved conditions could enable lower-dose and higher-resolution imaging for medical diagnosis, security inspection, and industrial testing. Researchers from Chongqing University, the 26th Institute of CETC, and Stevens Institute of Technology developed a scalable photonic crystal scintillator using Marangoni effect-driven interfacial self-assembly. The approach increased average light output by 4.64-fold and improved the X-ray imaging signal-to-noise ratio by 13 dB while maintaining spatial resolution better than 25 μm.

A new review published in PhotoniX Synergy examines how artificial intelligence is transforming the design of terahertz (THz) metamaterial devices (meta-devices). The authors survey conventional and AI-assisted approaches for THz meta-absorbers, modulators, filters, sensors, detectors, and multifunctional devices, and show how machine learning, evolutionary algorithms, deep learning, generative models, and large language models can establish data-driven links between structural geometry and electromagnetic response. The review also discusses challenges including computational cost, limited interpretability, data scarcity, and manufacturability, and outlines future directions such as physics-informed learning, multi-scale optimization, and AI-assisted optical computing hardware for 6G communication, imaging, biosensing, spectroscopy, and security inspection.

Professor Yoonsu Park’s team in the Department of Chemistry automated the entire process from mixing raw materials to synthesis and analysis. The platform continuously produces compounds needed for drug development, showing the potential to increase production volume. The technology is expected to reduce the burden of repetitive experiments and help secure a wider range of drug candidates.

Researchers at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland, have developed a new strategy for programming synthetic molecules to self-assemble into precisely defined three-dimensional structures. The study brings scientists a step closer to achieving the sophisticated molecular organization found in nature and could eventually open new possibilities for the development of advanced functional materials.

Nutth Tuchinda, an NJIT assistant professor of chemical and materials engineering, is among 67 scientists selected nationwide for the U.S. Department of Energy's 2026 Early Career Research Program. 

Depending on the cultivar, higher concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in the atmosphere can significantly alter the protein composition of wheat. This affects not only baking quality but potentially also the tolerability of wheat products. This is the conclusion of a new study led by the Leibniz Institute for Food Systems Biology at the Technical University of Munich. According to the study, the adaptation of crops to climate change should in the future focus not only on high yields but also on quality characteristics such as protein composition.

Researchers used the European XFEL to create X-ray flashes that were not only extremely short, but also reached record intensity for this type of pulses. The researchers focused the X-rays to an area roughly 100 000 times smaller than the cross-section of a typical human hair. This concentrated the X-ray light into a tiny but extremely powerful spot. The method could enable detailed studies of how electrons behave in atoms and molecules and in the long term could even allow to control electrons during chemical reactions. The team now published the results of the experiment, carried out in April 2026, in the journal Optica.