In bustling megacities worldwide, smart trains and railways are emerging as heroes in the fight against gridlocked traffic and choking pollution. Powered by cutting-edge tech like IoT and digital connectivity, these systems promise faster, greener, and more personalized travel—think seamless real-time updates and automated operations. Yet, this digital evolution brings a dark side: heightened vulnerability to cyberattacks that could derail operations, compromise passenger safety, or expose sensitive data. As railways go "smart," the need for robust cybersecurity isn't just a tech add-on—it's essential to unlock the full potential of a connected world without inviting chaos. This study dives into the cybersecurity maze of smart railways, mapping out threats, vulnerabilities, and defenses to ensure these vital infrastructures remain resilient in an increasingly hostile digital landscape.

Los Angeles, CA – November 14, 2025 -   The Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation (TIBI) is pleased to announce its collaboration with the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) on a newly awarded $2.8 million Discovery Stage Research (DISC0) grant from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM).

Researchers have announced the rediscovery of Moema claudiae, a species of seasonal killifish in Bolivia that was previously thought to be possibly extinct. This rediscovery provides new hope for the conservation of this unique fish and the diverse wetland habitats of the region.

Accurate measurements of dual parameters of phase retardance and retardance axis of birefringent materials are of fundamental importance to their fabrication and applications. However, current techniques typically exhibit limited versatility, suffering from high complexity, insufficient accuracy, and low efficiency. In this study, an anisotropic laser feedback polarization effect is proposed and demonstrated for birefringence measurement, featuring simultaneous dual-parameter demodulation, unified polarization modulation-analysis architecture, high detection sensitivity, user-friendly operation, and versatile functionality. Importantly, such system can be self-calibrated with its own physical phenomena to reduce the installation derivation. To showcase the powerful effectiveness, we perform the static birefringence, dynamic birefringence variation, and spatial birefringence distribution, which remarkably exhibits the standard deviation of 0.0453° and 0.0939° for phase retardance and retardance axis azimuth, with the limit allowable sample transmittance around 10^-5. This work demonstrates comprehensive applicability across diverse birefringence scenarios, extending the application of anisotropic laser feedback polarization effect, while establishing a novel strategy for birefringence measurement.