A rainbow reveals with colours what otherwise remains hidden: light is “refracted” by transparent matter, in this case water droplets. This same physical effect underlies many everyday technologies, like LCD screens and broadband connections based on fibre-optic cables. Light refraction is caused by an interaction between light and the atoms of matter. This brings the light waves slightly out of sync, so to speak. “X-ray light” is “refracted”, too. But the effect is difficult to measure here. A miniature device now offers a novel approach: Researchers from the Universities of Göttingen and Hamburg, together with partners, have built the world's smallest X-ray interferometer, to their knowledge. It has enabled them to precisely measure, for the first time, the refraction of X-rays confined to a few nanometres, and to deduce how they interact with atomic nuclei. The study was published in the journal Nature Photonics.

Understanding the Sun’s active regions is crucial for predicting space weather, but scientists have historically lacked continuous, detailed measurements of the Sun's hidden far side. New research by a team of scientists led by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) National Solar Observatory have developed a novel approach to estimate the magnetic configuration of these hidden regions using helioseismic data (sound waves within the Sun). The method relies on crucial helioseismic data including measurements from the NSF-NOAA Global Oscillation Network Group (NSF-NOAA GONG), operated by NSO with support from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). This breakthrough paves the way for a more complete, full-Sun map of magnetic activity when combined with observations of the front-side to improve simulations of the solar environment and help forecasters anticipate potentially hazardous solar events.

Tokyo, Japan – A scientist from Tokyo Metropolitan University has proposed using safety monitoring at synchrotron facilities to study the properties of dark photons, hypothetical particles proposed to explain dark matter. Calculations showed that the X-ray source at these sites and a Geiger-Muller counter behind safety shielding could be used to propose limits on how strongly dark photons interact with normal photons. The experiment would not involve a dedicated facility and can run alongside other experiments.

Professor Cheng-Wei Qiu (Provost’s Chair, NUS Electrical and Computer Engineering) has been named the 2026 recipient of the Joseph Fraunhofer Award/Robert M. Burley Prize, one of the highest honours in optical science and engineering, by Optica.

An EPFL-led study shows how language models can guide chemical synthesis and explain reactions using plain-language instructions.

Physicist Olena Fedchenko conducts research at Goethe University on novel quantum materials that will be key to future technological breakthroughs. Since 2025, she has held the Gisela-and Wilfried Eckhardt Endowed Professorship for Experimental Physics, financed through returns from the Gisela and Wilfried Eckhardt Endowment Fund at Goethe University. This endowment fund is now being supported by the Volkswagen Foundation with two million euros as part of its Lichtenberg Program. Among other activities, Olena Fedchenko conducts research in the Collaborative Research Center/Transregio ElastoQMat as part of the joint activities of the Rhine-Main Universities (RMU).