Engineers have long known that powerful lasers can make metals stronger. For decades, a technique called laser shock peening has been used to extend the lifetime of aircraft engines, railway components, and other critical parts by blasting their surfaces with intense laser pulses. The treatment leaves metals better able to resist fatigue, wear, and corrosion—key requirements in extreme environments.

What has received far less attention, however, is how long the laser pulse duration last.

In the International Journal of Extreme Manufacturing, researchers demonstrate that laser pulse duration, from nanoseconds down to femtoseconds, fundamentally changes how laser shock peening works. By analyzing nearly 300 studies published over the past six decades, the team shows that timing, not just power, may define the future of laser-based metal strengthening.

The research team employed an integrated experimental approach by using human bronchial epithelial cells (BEAS-2B), mouse macrophages (RAW 264.7), and Balb/c mouse models to systematically reveal a "hierarchical oxidative stress" pathway responsible for PS NP-induced pulmonary toxicity.

A team of physicists from the Institute of Modern Physics (IMP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, together with collaborators, has identified the dominant physical mechanism responsible for energy release in the nuclear isomer molybdenum-93m (Mo-93m).

Researchers have created a process using liquid metals, powered by sunlight, that can produce clean hydrogen from both freshwater and seawater.

Blood vessels in the brain are highly interconnected yet the mechanisms that regulate flow are not well studied. To learn more, UC San Diego Professor of Physics David formulated a mathematical model to predict the impact of a change in a single vessel on the flow through all the other vessels. 

Researchers have developed a new strategy to engineer biochar with dramatically enhanced sunlight-driven chemical activity, opening promising pathways for environmental remediation and pollutant transformation. The findings demonstrate how combining biochar with artificially synthesized humic substances can significantly boost its ability to drive light-powered reduction reactions that influence metal cycling and contaminant transformation in natural environments.

Scientists have discovered that cyanobacteria, microscopic organisms best known for driving harmful algal blooms, may play a major role in spreading antibiotic resistance genes in coastal environments. The findings highlight a previously overlooked link between natural nutrient cycling and the global challenge of antibiotic resistance.