New framework enables researchers to model how light and electrons interact in metals, semiconductors and two-dimensional materials, paving the way for faster development of advanced chips, optical technologies and quantum devices.

A physics- and spatially informed diffusion model was developed to achieve rapid Monte Carlo–consistent dose prediction for CyberKnife radiotherapy. The model integrates finite-size pencil beam dose distributions, planning CT images, and signed distance maps to incorporate physical, anatomical, and spatial prior information. PSIDMViT improved agreement with Monte Carlo reference doses across head-and-neck, lung, and liver cancer cases. The model reduced the time required for Monte Carlo–consistent dose estimation from approximately one hour to about 18 minutes, supporting more efficient high-precision radiotherapy planning and verification.

This study develops a novel “Hydrology–Environment–Ecology” framework that integrates aquatic ecological risk (AER) with landscape ecological risk (LER) across lake basin boundaries. Using Chaohu Lake—one of China's largest freshwater lakes—as a case study, the research reveals that both aquatic and terrestrial ecological risks increased significantly from 2000 to 2019, with habitat quality identified as the dominant driver of aquatic risk. The framework identifies an 8-km riparian buffer zone as the critical threshold for integrated conservation, and uncovers human activity as the dominant factor elevating landscape ecological risk through both direct and indirect pathways. The study provides a transferable paradigm for cross-scale lake ecosystem management.

Mysterious high-speed "bullets" – clumps of possibly oxygen-rich gas travelling at up to 20 million miles per hour – have been discovered shooting out of the rarest stellar explosion in our galaxy. They were spotted after a dust of debris surrounding the Milky Way's only known helium nova finally cleared after more than 20 years, revealing that an unusual stellar system was to blame for the extraordinary explosion. But the origin of the "bullets" is an enigma that has left astronomers puzzled – nothing of their kind has ever been observed in other novae throughout the universe.

-  Professor Seung Jun Hwang’s team in the Department of Chemistry developed a molecular system that switched oxygen activation between two- and four-electron pathways

-  The findings provided design principles for next-generation catalysts used in batteries, fuel cells, and greener chemical processes.

The study of nearly 45,000 first-time mothers found that repeated exposure to combinations of common air pollutants in early pregnancy was associated with nearly three-times greater odds of early preterm birth. Levels that the EPA's AQI would classify as "safe" may still pose health risks when experienced together. The most critical pregnancy window was weeks 9-14 of pregnancy, particularly around week 11, when the placenta and fetal blood supply are developing.