Plants absorb not only nutrients but also toxic metals such as cadmium through their roots. It was previously unclear whether the toxic metals came from the soil or the fertilisers applied. Under the leadership of the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) and Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, a research team has examined wheat grains to clarify the question. Using a special isotope signature, they found that most of the toxic metals come from the mineral fertiliser. A combination of mineral and organic fertilisation would not only reduce the concentration of toxic metals but also increase the concentration of metals important for human nutrition. The researchers reach this conclusion in their study published in Environment International.

Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) and the leading global Motion Technology company Schaeffler have officially launched the next phase of their corporate laboratory partnership to drive research and innovation in AI-enabled humanoid robotics. Gracing the launch of the new Schaeffler-NTU Corporate Lab: Intelligent Mechatronics Hub today as Guest of Honour was Dr Tan See Leng, Minister for Manpower and Minister-in-charge of Energy and Science & Technology, Ministry of Trade and Industry. Located on NTU Singapore’s campus, the new 900-square-metre facility will contribute to Singapore’s strategic goal of strengthening advanced manufacturing and robotics. It marks another milestone in the collaboration between NTU and Schaeffler, which started in 2017.

The gyrotropic magnetic effect (GME), which emerges as the low-frequency limit of natural gyrotopy, is a fundamental property of Bloch electrons on the Fermi surface in materials lacking inversion symmetry. While Weyl semimetals were among the first systems predicted to host the GME, this effect has not yet been experimentally observed in these materials. Here, the research team theoretically propose a robust scheme to generate a significant GME in anisotropic nodal-line semimetals using Floquet engineering with bicircular light. They show that bicircular light irradiation can selectively break spatial and time-reversal symmetries, inducing a topological phase transition from a nodal-line semimetal to a Weyl semimetal with a minimal number of Weyl nodes. Crucially, the Weyl nodes with opposite chirality are separated in energy, a key requirement for a non-zero GME. Using first-principles calculations combined with Floquet theory, they identify compressed black phosphorus as an ideal material platform. The intrinsic anisotropy of black phosphorus amplifies the GME, resulting in a measurable gyrotropic current that is several orders of magnitude larger than that in previously proposed systems. This work not only provides a concrete path toward the experimental realization of GME but also opens new avenues for exploring the interplay of light, symmetry, and topology in quantum materials.

New research led by the University of Plymouth, with partners at universities and healthcare facilities in the UK and USA, has found that targeted ultrasound can be used to change the function of a deep region of the human brain. Specifically, it can be used to target the nucleus accumbens, a tiny element of the human brain triggered when we experience something enjoyable, and used to help us learn behaviours that lead to rewards. With surgical treatments currently the only option to target this area of the brain, those behind the study believe it marks a turning point for neurotechnology, showing that a non-invasive ultrasound approach can influence behaviour and may one day help restore mental balance.

Researchers from Saarland University and the Max Planck Institute for Software Systems have, for the first time, shown that the reactions of humans and large language models (LLMs) to complex or misleading program code significantly align, by comparing brain activity of study participants with model uncertainty. 

Using EUROSTAT data and double randomization, the co-led study improves the Benefit of the Doubt model through a novel Ensemble-DEA framework that mitigates the curse of dimensionality in SDG indicators. Published in Expert Systems with Applications, the method offers more reliable EU performance rankings and benchmarking tools for evaluating sustainability policies across member states.