Modern methods of radiotherapy would fight cancer more effectively and safely if treatments could be planned taking into account the radiation quality of the therapeutic proton beams. An achievement by physicists from the Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Cracow brings us closer to this goal.

While lasers integrated directly with silicon chips offer several advantages in photonics, their efficiency may be impacted by material mismatch and coupling loss. Researchers have now achieved the direct fabrication of quantum dot laser on silicon with broad and scalable photonics application. The integrated lasers were thermally stable and capable of efficient lasing at O-band frequency. This novel integration technique shows strong potential for broader adoption and commercialization.

Chemists from the National University of Singapore (NUS) have developed a new way to turn carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, into valuable liquid hydrocarbons, which are the main components of fuels like gasoline and jet fuel.

This breakthrough research from Shanghai Jiao Tong University overcomes critical barriers to silicon micro-ring resonator (MRR) commercialization. By heterogeneously integrating low-loss phase-change material Sb₂Se₃, the team created non-volatile, "smart-programmable" transceivers enabling precise, full-spectral-range wavelength tuning via electrical pulses. Crucially, the technique preserves high performance, achieving 100 Gbps per MRR (400 Gbps total for 4 cascaded rings) and introducing an innovative thermal compensation scheme for stability. This work provides a robust solution for high-density, low-power optical interconnects, accelerating MRR technology from the lab towards transformative applications in data centers and high-speed networks, while showcasing the power of multidisciplinary innovation.

Research on the optical coherence manipulation has made significant progress, but the modulation rate of conventional tailoring technology is too low, which has become a key factor hindering its transition from laboratory to practical application. Here, we utilize lithium niobate films (LNF) modulator to achieve high-speed optical coherence manipulation based on its high-speed electro-optical modulation capability. Our experimental modulation rate reaches 350 kHz, which is about 20 times higher than the fastest modulation rate reported so far. This design strategy provides a simple rule for high-speed optical coherence manipulation based on electro-optical modulation, paving the way for further practical applications of optical coherence manipulation technology.

 

Researchers from the University of Münster have succeeded for the first time in using spin-polarised scanning tunnelling microscopy to image structural and magnetic properties that lie beneath the surface of a layered system of 2D graphene and iron

Two junior research groups at Ruhr University Bochum, Germany, have developed a drug complex that kills cancer cells in such a clever manner that they raise a red flag as they die. They signal to the immune system that something is seriously wrong with this type of cell. This teaches the immune cells to destroy such cancer cells—even if they are not in the vicinity of the original tumor. This could remove metastases that develop at distant sites in the body. Dr. Johannes Karges from the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Dr. Carlos Plaza-Sirvent from the Department of Medicine present their findings in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry on July 17, 2025.