Astronomers now estimate there is at least one planet for every star in our galaxy. These worlds, called exoplanets, are planets that orbit stars outside our solar system. But new research from McMaster University reveals a surprising twist: the most common planets in our galaxy don’t exist around the most common stars.

High-efficiency light modulation within transparent substrates is crucial for advancing in-chip integrated optical technologies, yet microscale 3D optical design in dielectric environments remains challenging. Scientists in China proposed a single-pulse ultrafast laser-driven anisotropic lithography technique based on anisotropic thermal deposition, enabling efficient patterning of regular and high-purity amorphization with multidimensional controllability in 3D free space. This establishes a versatile platform for on-demand production of all-dielectric micro/nanophotonic architectures in transparent dielectrics, unlocking new avenues for 3D integrated photonics applications.

Utilizing mice, researchers have identified the "organizer cells" responsible for building bone during fetal development. The study reveals a two-phase program led by RANKL-producing "organizer cells": early-stage septoclasts clear cartilage to create space, followed by LepR⁺ bone marrow stromal cells that sustain the marrow environment. This developmental blueprint is reactivated during fracture healing, offering a novel therapeutic target for bone diseases like osteoporosis by focusing on niche cells rather than the bone-destroying cells themselves.

Shielding materials are essential in key modern industrial settings-such as spacecraft, nuclear power plants, semiconductor equipment, and advanced medical devices-to protect both equipment and personnel from electromagnetic waves and radiation. In particular, as space exploration gains momentum-such as with the successful launch of Artemis 2 on the 2nd-the importance of next-generation shielding technology capable of withstanding extreme environments is growing. However, electromagnetic waves and neutron radiation, which can cause malfunctions in key components like semiconductors, have different characteristics and must be blocked using distinct materials. This has historically led to issues such as increased weight and structural complexity. These limitations pose an even greater burden in the space industry. To address this challenge, a research team led by Dr. Joo Yong-ho at the Extreme Environment Shielding Materials Research Center of the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST; President Oh Sang-rok) has proposed a new solution.

Kyoto, Japan -- From birth to death, stars generally slow by 100 to 1000 times their initial rotation rates; in other words, they spin down. The Sun's total angular momentum has declined as material is gradually blown off at the surface as solar wind. By observing this, astronomers have theorized the interaction between magnetic fields and plasma flow to be the most efficient way to spin down stars.

Why and how this happens has long interested astronomers, and recently an observational technique called astroseismology, which measures a star's natural oscillation frequencies, has made it possible to measure the internal rotation rates and magnetic fields of other stars in our galaxy. From this huge population, a picture of how stellar rotation decreases with stellar age has emerged, one that suggests that current theory is insufficient to explain the dramatic decrease in rotation.

Fascinated by astroseismology and by other researchers' 3D simulations of the solar convective zone, a team of researchers at Kyoto University was inspired to investigate how magnetic fields affect rotation inside massive stars..

Texas A&M University officially opens the world’s largest academic controlled explosions lab, the Detonation Research Test Facility. Here, researchers turn raw energy into physical breakthroughs that could reshape industrial safety, enable hypersonic flights, advance materials and deepen our understanding of the universe itself.

A Pitt-led research study combined public and private data sources to improve Mauna Loa eruption prediction capabilities, and tools they've used are likely to be applicable far beyond Hawaii.

Kyoto, Japan --  The Fe Kα line, or iron Kα line, is often used in astronomical research to understand the physical composition of astronomical objects. This line is produced when a K-shell electron of an iron ion in the photosphere -- the gas on the stellar surface -- is ejected by an external process, and has been detected in X-ray spectra of solar and stellar flares. Yet the dominant mechanism behind this ionization process has remained an open question for many years.

Astronomers have proposed two possible mechanisms: photoionization by X-ray photons emitting from hot flare plasma, or collisional ionization by high-energy electrons accelerating at the onset of the flare. With these two possibilities in mind, a team of researchers at Kyoto University set out to uncover the truth behind the iron Kα line.

The team focused on the triple star system UX Arietis, conducting several days of simultaneous ultraviolet and X-ray observations using NICER, NASA's X-ray telescope aboard the International Space Station, and Hisaki, JAXA's ultraviolet space telescope. While Hisaki was developed primarily for observations of planets in the Solar System, the researchers demonstrated that it can also be used to study distant stars.