Astronomers detected the brightest fast radio burst ever seen. The dazzling “RBFLOAT” radio burst, originating nearby in the Ursa Major constellation, offers the clearest view yet of the environment around these mysterious flashes.

Physicists at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have developed a breakthrough concept in quantum encryption that makes private communication more secure over significantly longer distances, surpassing state-of-the-art technologies. For decades, experts believed such a technology upgrade required perfect optical hardware, namely, light sources that strictly emit one light particle (photon) at a time—something extremely difficult and expensive to build. But the new approach uses innovative encryption protocols applied to tiny, engineered materials called quantum dots to send encrypted information securely, even with imperfect light sources. Real-world tests show it can outperform even the best of current systems, potentially bringing quantum-safe communication closer to everyday use.

Overcoming the limits between operational bandwidth, aperture size, and numerical aperture, while expanding their potential in advanced applications, has been a main focus of research. At the same time, with growing demand for better light control, metalenses are gradually moving toward system-level designs. If a single metalens is like a skilled solo player performing in specific situations, then a group of metalenses working together is like a well-practiced orchestra, able to achieve more complex and flexible control of light. In this context, recent progress in metalens technology follows two main paths: one is the ongoing improvement and expanded functions of single metalenses; the other is the continuous development and new applications of multi-metalens systems.

Harvard physicists have developed a computational method that can uncover the rules that cells use to self-organize, translating the complex process of cell growth into an optimization problem a computer can solve.