A breakthrough study published in Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions^Ò (MPMI) reveals how the destructive fungal pathogen Fusarium graminearum uses a specialized protein to weaken plant immune defenses and cause Fusarium head blight (FHB), a devastating disease that severely damages wheat and barley crops worldwide. These new insights into how F. graminearum attacks crops could lead to the development of genetically engineered disease-resistant grains.

Quaise Energy has moved out of the lab and into the field with the first demonstration of its novel drilling technique on a full-scale oil rig just outside of Houston. The company, formed only seven years ago, is on track to prove that clean, renewable geothermal energy could power the world, according to Carlos Araque, CEO of Quaise and a co-founder.

An international research collaboration between IMDEA Networks’ Internet Analytics Group, headed by Narseo Vallina-Rodriguez, Prof. Gunes Acar (Radboud University, NL), and Tim Vlummens (KU Leuven, Belgium), has recently uncovered a potential privacy abuse involving Meta and the Russian tech giant Yandex. They found that native Android apps – including Facebook, Instagram, and several Yandex apps such as Maps, Navi, Browser, and Search – silently listen on fixed local ports on mobile devices to de-anonymize users’ browsing habits without consent.

Fraunhofer IAF has developed a semi-automated manufacturing process for resonantly tunable quantum cascade laser modules (MOEMS-EC-QCLs). This laser technology is characterized by very broad and extremely fast spectral tunability, enabling real-time spectroscopy and inline measurement systems in various industries. The process significantly accelerates the modules’ manufacturing and reduces its costs. From June 24 to 27, 2025, Fraunhofer IAF will present the process by the example of a multi-core system at the Laser World of Photonics in Munich (Hall A3, Booth 431). The system combines four modules via multiplexing and achieves effective spectral measurement speeds of over 1 million wave numbers per second.

Not too much and not too little: the dosage of drugs must be optimally adjusted for general anesthesia. This is no easy task, especially for pediatric patients. A pilot study now shows that breath analysis can help anesthesia personnel administer the optimal dose of a common anesthetic. And that's not all: breath analysis can also be used to determine how the body reacts to the anesthesia.

Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) infections can lead to deadly brain inflammation, yet treatment options remain limited. Japanese researchers have now uncovered how HSV-1 evades the host’s intrinsic immunity by using an enzyme, uracil-DNA glycosylase, to block APOBEC1, a host protein that edits viral DNA to suppress infection. They also developed a promising therapeutic strategy to restore immune defense in the brain, offering new hope for managing HSV-1-induced encephalitis.