A team of researchers from the Faculty of Physics at the University of Warsaw, the Military University of Technology, and the Institut Pascal at Université Clermont Auvergne has developed a novel method for using cholesteric liquid crystals in optical microcavities. The platform created by the researchers enables the formation and dynamic tuning of photonic crystals with integrated spin-orbit coupling (SOC) and controlled laser emission. The results of this groundbreaking research have been published in the renowned journal Laser & Photonics Reviews.

A Nagoya University team has overcome one of the key limitations of X-ray technology by making the mirror using only a single-crystal piezoelectric thin wafer instead of the usual two-part structure. Using this technique, they changed X-ray beam size by more than 3,400 times. This improved dynamic range massively improves both imaging and analysis, improving the efficiency of advanced techniques and massively enhancing workflows.

A new study has revealed for the first time that zooplankton migration contributes significantly to carbon sequestration in the Southern Ocean—a process overlooked in climate models.

To elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying cellular response to graded hypoxia, Wei Wang's team at Nanjing University, developed a quantitative regulatory network model of HIF-1α. By integrating dynamic simulations, bifurcation analysis, mechanistic prediction, and functional validation, the study systematically revealed that HIF-1α activation is a progressive process. This activation is primarily governed by the sequential inactivation of two classes of hydroxylases—prolyl hydroxylases (PHDs) and factor inhibiting HIF (FIH)—which orchestrate tiered cellular adaptive responses.