If mistletoe’s status as a nutrient-stealing freeloader has been cooling your holiday ardor, new research led by an Oregon State University scientist may help relight the fire.

Scientists have outlined an approach for interpreting how materials interact with polarized light, which could benefit biomedical imaging and advanced material design. Using an elliptical model to analyze how phase-shifting elements interact with polarized light, they offer an alternative, more physically plausible way to interpret polarization data from complex materials. Conventional methods usually assume that a material’s retarder properties can be represented as a two-layer model combining a circular and a linear retarder, which often leads to errors when the internal structure is unknown or highly layered. The elliptical model adopted by the authors captures a material’s full retarder properties with three parameters—elliptical axis orientation, degree of ellipticity, and elliptical retardance—without requiring assumptions about its internal structure. Tests on liquid crystal samples, including layered and nonlayered configurations, showed that this model avoids misinterpretations common with conventional models.

Engineered oncolytic bacteria have emerged as a promising therapeutic platform for precision cancer treatment, offering tumor-specific colonization, immune activation, and controllable therapeutic delivery. This review summarizes recent advances in the design and application of synthetic biological strategies that enhance bacterial precision, safety, and efficacy in tumor therapy. These strategies are categorized into three major regulatory modes: exogenous input–responsive gene circuits, autonomous bacterial signal–responsive gene circuits, and tumor microenvironment-responsive gene circuits.

With the rapid rise of emerging technologies such as AI, high-performance computing (HPC) and 5G, demand for improved chip performance and reliability continues to grow. A research team from City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK) has been awarded funding under the “RAISe+ Scheme” to address the complex metallisation challenges in the packaging of 3D integrated circuit (3DIC) semiconductor chips. This groundbreaking research leverages patented chemical additives in the copper electroplating process, ensuring chip performance by achieving more stable connections in stacked chips. The team plans to build an automated intelligent manufacturing line by 2026.

On December 6, 2025, the inaugural ceremony of Smart Civil Infrastructures, an international academic journal sponsored by Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture (BUCEA), was grandly held during the National Bridge Academic Conference.