Virginia Tech researchers say a true revolution in wireless technologies is only possible through endowing the system with the next generation of artificial intelligence (AI) that can think, imagine, and plan akin to humans. Doing so will allow networks to break free from traditional enablers, deliver unprecedented quality, and usher in a new phase of the AI evolution.

The Open Brain Institute (OBI) launches as a global non-profit advancing neuroscience, AI, and brain research through digital brain simulation. Expanding on EPFL’s Blue Brain Project, OBI provides AI-powered Virtual Labs where researchers can build and simulate digital brains—from molecular pathways to entire brains—across species, ages, and disease states. By integrating open neuroscience data, advanced brain modeling tools, and AI-driven analysis, OBI enables breakthroughs in neurological disease research, brain-computer interfaces (BCI), neurotechnology, and artificial intelligence (AI). The first Virtual Labs open on March 28, 2025, marking a new era in simulation neuroscience, digital brain models, and brain-inspired AI. 

In a new study published in Nano Letters, researchers at the University of Rochester show that precisely layering nano-thin materials creates excitons—essentially, artificial atoms—that can act as quantum information bits, or qubits.

AIP and APS are excited to award Samson Shatashvili with the 2025 Dannie Heineman Prize for Mathematical Physics. Shatashvili is being recognized for his clever use of various techniques in studying symmetry in quantum field theory, particularly his work with L. Faddeev on anomalies, with C. Vafa on exceptional holonomy compactifications of superstrings, and for the co-discovery of Bethe/gauge correspondence between supersymmetric vacua and quantum integrability. This annual award recognizes significant contributions within the field of mathematical physics.

In the fields of optoelectronic technology and optical information processing, light modulation and control constitute pivotal technologies for achieving efficient optical communication, optical imaging, and sensing systems. Particularly in the terahertz (THz) frequency regime, THz technology has demonstrated broad application prospects in security screening, biomedical imaging, and communication systems due to its unique penetration capabilities and low photon energy. With advancements in micro-nano optics, metasurfaces have garnered significant attention for their ability to manipulate light properties—including phase, amplitude, polarization, and frequency—at subwavelength scales.

Researchers from Science Tokyo have discovered that bacterial swarms transition from stable vortices to chaotic turbulence through distinct intermediate states. Combining experiments with bacterial swarms, computer simulations, and mathematical modeling, the team clarified the intricate process by which orderly swirling turns to disordered turbulence as the free space available to bacteria increases. These findings provide new insights into active matter physics and could inform future applications in micro-robotics, biosensing, and active fluid-based micro-scale systems.