Scientists in China have developed a neural illumination framework that advances photorealistic illumination handling for light field displays. By using only one single view, the method estimates environmental lighting and supports relighting under varying illumination conditions. This breakthrough addresses a well-recognized challenge of static, "baked-in" lighting in virtual content, enabling generated assets to achieve photometric coherence with the real world. The technique provides a practical pathway toward immersive interaction and photorealistic holographic displays.

In a new breakthrough, researchers from Hokkaido University have developed a superacid-resistant BODIPY dye. 

A new study reveals that biochar, a carbon-rich material increasingly promoted for sustainable agriculture, can significantly reduce methane emissions from rice paddies. However, its climate benefits depend strongly on how much nitrogen fertilizer is applied.

Researchers have demonstrated a compact optical wireless transmitter that delivers very high data rates while consuming significantly less energy than conventional WiFi systems. The chip-scale platform integrates a 5 × 5 array of tiny semiconductor lasers with custom beam-shaping optics, enabling parallel data transmission and controlled light distribution for multiuser indoor environments. In experiments, the system achieved an aggregate data rate of more than 360 gigabits per second over a two-meter free-space link, with energy consumption per bit roughly half that of state-of-the-art WiFi. The results highlight the potential of optical wireless communication as an energy-efficient complement to radio-based networks for future high-capacity indoor connectivity.

In an ongoing effort to bring quantum science out of the tightly controlled lab environment and into the field, researchers from UC Santa Barbara and the University of Massachusetts Amherst have, for the first time, demonstrated a chip-scale, stabilized, visible light laser that drives a trapped ion atomic optical clock and quantum qubit, paving the way toward compact, portable and scalable trapped-ion quantum information systems. 

Algae blooms make a pond’s surface shine in mesmerizing green hues. But if the microorganisms responsible are cyanobacteria, they can also release toxins that harm humans and wildlife alike. So, a team reporting in ACS ES&T Water has designed a “set it and forget it” system for distributing algaecide using specialized buoys tethered at the site of a bloom. In tests, the buoys removed nearly all cyanobacteria without the need for frequent reapplication.

In quantum technologies, everything depends on the ability to detect the properties carried by a single photon. But in the real world, that photon of interest is often buried in a sea of unwanted light — a true “needle in a haystack” challenge that currently limits the deployment of many applications, including secure quantum communication, quantum sensors used in telescope networks, as well as the interconnection of quantum computers to accelerate the development of new drugs and materials.

 

At the Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS), the team of Professor José Azaña, in collaboration with Professor Roberto Morandotti’s group, has developed a surprisingly simple and energy‑efficient way to overcome this obstacle. The work was carried out by Benjamin Crockett during his PhD at the INRS Énergie Matériaux Télécommunications Research Centre. He recently completed his degree and is now a Banting postdoctoral fellow at the University of British Columbia (UBC).

Their method not only reduces noise but, more importantly, recovers essential quantum properties that would otherwise be lost in bright environments where current technologies fail. The team’s findings were published in Science Advances.