A research team wanted to better understand how the forces between particles inside a material change. They discovered that by confining one-dimensional classical spin chains inside a mirror box cavity with light they could force these magnetic particles to organize and undergo a phase transition. Their work provides the simplest exactly solvable examples showing that light can create new phase transitions with materials.

Particle accelerators are expensive. Not just to build or to run, but also to predict the outcome of measurements obtained from them.

Predicting the outcomes of particle collisions is essential to understanding the measured results seen in colliders. These predictions use quantum field theory (QFT), the language that describes particle behaviour, and they have a major problem, according to Perimeter Research Faculty member Michael Borinsky.

Researchers at the University of Waterloo have uncovered a new clue in the progression of Fuchs endothelial corneal dystrophy (FECD), a disease that causes vision loss by damaging the cells that keep the cornea clear. While scientists have long observed tiny bumps beneath these cells, the Waterloo team discovered that the bumps are not just a symptom of the disease. Using a laboratory model, researchers found that the bumps place physical stress on the cells, contributing directly to their death and accelerating vision impairment.

The discovery provides new insight into how FECD develops and could help pave the way for treatments that reduce the need for corneal transplants, which currently remain the primary option for many patients with advanced disease. 

POSTECH Professor Jihyun Hong and Professor Kyu-Young Park Research team Develop a Strategy 

to Turn ‘Disorder’ in Manganese-Based Batteries into a Performance Advantage]

Soybean root nodules are central to biological nitrogen fixation, but measuring nodule number and weight usually requires destructive harvesting. 

Researchers developed a plasma-ultrasound catalytic (PUC) process that directly converts air and phenol into high-value nitroaromatic chemicals under mild conditions, demonstrating a new and promising paradigm for the efficient and selective synthesis of valuable C–N–O chemicals.

Researchers have developed a bioinspired photothermal-electrothermal superhydrophobic surface that combines passive ice resistance, solar-driven heating and low-voltage electrothermal heating. The surface maintains anti-icing and de-icing capability under changing illumination conditions and also provides flame retardancy and electromagnetic shielding, offering a multifunctional approach for protecting infrastructure in harsh environments.