Neutron scattering experiments generate billions of raw events requiring complex corrections before analysis. Researchers at the China Spallation Neutron Source present RZera 3.0, a unified, modular data reduction platform deployed across multiple powder diffractometers and, for the first time, an inelastic spectrometer. It also introduces new algorithms that improve pair distribution functions quality and background subtraction.

A global analysis finds that groundwater depletion is not greater in shared aquifers overall, but depletion and irrigation tend to cluster closer to international borders, where pumping is more likely to have cross-border impacts. UN University researchers say cooperation should focus on where groundwater is actually used.

Surgical removal of a tumor remains the primary defense against most solid cancers. However, for surgeons in the operating room, differentiating between the outer edges of a tumor and healthy tissue is a challenge. In aggressive, structurally erratic cancers, this boundary can be especially hard to find. Leaving behind even a microscopic cluster of residual cancer cells significantly elevates the risk of the disease returning and spreading throughout the body.

Sadly, surgeons are not afforded a perfect map of the tumor and instead, must rely on limited visual cues and touch. But a UT San Antonio College of Sciences researcher is working to provide that map.

Syed Muhammad Usama, PhD, assistant professor of chemical biology in the Department of Chemistry, is developing a novel molecular “smart probe.” The technology is designed to make hidden cancer cells glow in real time during surgery, giving surgeons cleaner margins and patients lower risk of recurrence.

Dr. Ofer Neufeld of the Technion and colleagues in Germany have demonstrated direct control of electrons in a temporary quantum state created by illuminating graphene with ultrashort laser pulses. Additional light pulses allowed the researchers to control electron movement within this state. Published in Nature Physics, the study advances understanding of how light can change material properties and offers a new way to investigate short-lived quantum states. The findings could help pave the way for faster, more energy-efficient electronics and technologies whose properties can be switched on and off with light.