A scientific team led by Facility for Rare Isotope Beams, or FRIB, researchers identified the origin of a mysterious excess of low-energy gamma rays emitted by the nucleus zinc-70. They found that the excess is caused by magnetic transitions within the nucleus. The study, “Magnetic Character of the Low-Energy Enhancement in ⁷⁰Zn,” published in Nature, sheds light on a long-standing puzzle in nuclear physics and has far-reaching implications for astrophysics. 

A Yale-led research team has proposed a less expensive — and more environmentally friendly — method for removing certain “forever chemicals” from millions of acres of farmland in the United States and around the world. 

The new process, which is based on data from agricultural sites in Maine. They say it has the potential to address two connected environmental challenges: remediating per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that have contaminated agricultural land for decades and scaling up the use of enhanced weathering to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. 

Just as important, the new approach allows previously contaminated cropland to once again be used for an agricultural purpose — unlike current remediation methods. 

“There is an obvious need for new tools to help farmers affected by ‘forever chemicals’ contamination,” said Noah Planavsky, a professor of Earth and planetary science in Yale’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences and the son and brother of farmers. He is also a faculty member of the Yale Center for Natural Carbon Capture and principal investigator for a new study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Scienceswhich describes the new method. 

Exceptional points, or EPs for short, are among the phenomena of modern Physics. These are special points or locations at which the properties of matter, space or time change. In a new theoretical study, researchers from the Institute for Photonic Quantum Systems (PhoQS) at Paderborn University, in collaboration with researchers from the University of Arizona, have now shown that ‘exceptional points’ in non-linear systems follow a universal geometric order – something that was previously unclear. Their findings have now been published in the prestigious journal *Nature Communications*.

A study by Sapienza University, the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT), EY and IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia used virtual reality to measure interpersonal distance in 184 Italian and Japanese participants. The research was conducted during two major international public events: Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan, and Maker Faire Rome, Italy. The findings reveal how culture, first impressions and implicit biases shape our personal space. The study has been published in Computers in Human Behavior.

Millions of people across the UK marvelled at the spectacular Northern Lights that lit up the night sky in May 2024. But while the display captivated skywatchers, the geomagnetic storm behind it also served as the biggest test in a generation of the UK's preparedness for severe space weather. So did it pass? Unfortunately not, according to scientists from the Space Environment Impacts Expert Group (SEIEG). They identified multiple infrastructure threats that the storm exposed and made 14 recommendations to better protect British electricity supplies, satellites, aviation and other critical infrastructure from future space weather events. The group's findings were presented this week at the Royal Astronomical Society's National Astronomy Meeting in Birmingham by SEIEG Chair Professor Richard Horne, of the British Antarctic Survey.