Today the international LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA Collaboration announces the completion of the fourth observation campaign of the international network of gravitational wave detectors. Launched in May 2023, this is the longest and richest period of coordinated observations with some 250 new signals  detected:  over two-thirds of the approximately 350 gravitational signals detected to date by LIGO, Virgo and KAGRA. Some of the most significant results of this latest observational cycle have already been announced and published, contributing to a further deepening of our understanding of  certain fundamental physical processes in the universe.

Magnetic skyrmions are particle-like objects that can be used as information carriers in memory and computing devices. Researchers from Waseda University recently studied the flow behaviors of many skyrmions in structured magnets and found that skyrmions can behave like chiral fluids. They proposed that fully developed skyrmion flows can be used for fluidics, which significantly reduces complexity of skyrmion logic, as it eliminates the need for deterministic creation, precise control, and detection of individual skyrmions.

Silicon, aluminium and lithium are the most critical raw materials on the planet. Their scarcity and the complexity of extracting them could hinder the development of technologies that are key to the green transition. This is one of the main conclusions of a study by the INGENIO Institute, a joint centre of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), in collaboration with the University of Rome, the Universitat de València and the University of London.

The University of Liverpool has unveiled an ambitious plan for a new £100 million AI Materials Hub for Innovation (AIM-HI) dedicated to accelerating the application of artificial intelligence in materials chemistry.