New research led by Penn State scientists suggests that some of the highest-energy cosmic rays may consist of atomic nuclei heavier than iron and could help narrow down the cosmic sources capable of accelerating these particles.

Dr. Yannik Zobus, a laser physicist at GSI/FAIR in Darmstadt, is head of the LASE-FUSE (LAser Simulation for Enhanced FUSion Efficiency) Young Investigators Group since May 1, 2026. As part of the “Fusionstalente” (fusion talents) funding program of Germany’s Federal Ministry of Research, Technology, and Space (BMFTR), the project will receive three million euros in funding over five years. Thus, already for the second time a GSI/FAIR project is awarded in the framework of the BMFTR initiative.

A violent volcanic eruption in the South Pacific has revealed a surprising natural mechanism that could potentially help slow global warming. The finding provides entirely new insights into atmospheric chemistry and may inspire new methods to remove methane emissions from the air.

In short, we report an inverse phase enhancement (IPE) strategy to fabricate high-performance graphene paper (IPE-GP) exhibiting high strength (63.3 MPa) and high thermal conductivity (1325 W/m·K) at a minimal polymer loading of 5.9%. Using this conspicuous IPE-GP, we fabricated graphene composites that attained a record in-plane thermal conductivity of 802 W/m·K of polymer bulk composites.

The Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics, colloquially known as the “Oscar of Science”, goes to “Muon g-2”, a conglomerate of three international research collaborations that performed their groundbreaking measurements at the American Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab) and the Brookhaven National Laboratory as well as CERN in Switzerland. Over the course of more than 60 years, researchers in the collaborations worked to measure the subtle wobble of the muon as precisely as possible. While scientists from the Mainz Institute of Physics were already central to the last experiment at CERN in the 1970s, the group of Professor Dr. Martin Fertl from the PRISMA⁺⁺ Cluster of Excellence at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) provided core contributions to the latest experiment at Fermilab.

Professor Ferenc KRAUSZ, Chair Professor of Laser Physics in the Department of Physics, Faculty of Science at The University of Hong Kong (HKU), has been elected as an International Member of the National Academy of Sciences, USA (NAS), in recognition of his outstanding contributions to ultrafast laser science and attosecond physics.

The University of Hong Kong (HKU) has spearheaded an international research collaboration to develop a pioneering theoretical framework that deciphers the predictability of complex networks. A research team including Professor Qingpeng ZHANG’s group at the HKU Musketeers Foundation Institute of Data Science (HKU IDS) and the HKU Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, together with researchers from Zhejiang University and Sapienza University of Rome, has developed a new theoretical framework to understand the predictability of complex networks.

The 23rd Carbon Research International Forum, held online on April 24, 2026, brought together researchers and professionals to explore how engineered biochar can support carbon capture, resource recovery, and sustainable industrial development. The recorded session has now been uploaded to YouTube, making the forum available to a wider international audience interested in low-carbon technologies and circular economy solutions.