International Academic Excellence Awards

  An AI framework now computes once-impossible physics equations within seconds. The breakthrough redefines how scientists study the behavior of materials. Researchers at the University of New Mexico and Los Alamos National Laboratory have created an advanced computational framework that solves a major problem that has challenged statistical physicists for decades. Known as the Tensors for High-dimensional Object Representation (THOR) AI framework, the system uses tensor network algorithms to efficiently compress and analyze vast configurational integrals and partial differential equations. These equations are fundamental for determining how materials behave under different thermodynamic and mechanical conditions. By combining tensor networks with machine learning potentials, which represent interatomic forces and atomic motion, the researchers achieved accurate, scalable simulations of materials across a wide range of physical environments. “The configurational integral — which c...

  Researchers from the Botanical Survey of India discovered a remarkable new fungus species in Arunachal Pradesh’s forests. This fungus, named Bridgeoporus kanadii, is notable for its exceptionally large fruiting bodies. The largest measured over three metres in radius and could support the weight of a person. This discovery adds to the limited known species within the Bridgeoporus genus and marks the ecological importance of fungi in forest ecosystems. Discovery and Naming Bridgeoporus kanadii was found during a monsoon mushroom survey in northeast India. The fungus grew on old fir trees in clusters of about 40. It was named in honour of Indian mycologist Kanad Das for his contributions to macrofungi research. Although known locally, it was not harvested due to its inedibility and lack of economic value. Physical Characteristics The fungus features fruiting bodies that are unusually large. The biggest specimen had a radius exceeding three metres, much larger than its closest rela...

  Using a ChatGPT-like AI model , scientists have created a new map of the mouse brain that captures previously uncharted areas of the organ in unprecedented detail. The map, published Tuesday (Oct. 7) in the journal Nature Communications, captures 1,300 regions of the brain and is the first to detail brain regions without requiring manual input from humans. The study authors, from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and the Allen Institute for Cell Science, hope that the project will enable researchers to sketch such tissue maps across the entire body. Advances in genomics have produced a vast amount of information about the cells across the nervous system, revealing the cells' identities and functions. One technique that has produced this data deluge is spatial transcriptomics, which reveals how cells use genetic information to produce proteins, thereby connecting the information in the genome with the body's functions. The approach also shows the positions of ...

  Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Humboldt University in Berlin have developed a way to capture nearly all the light emitted from tiny diamond defects known as color centers. By placing nanodiamonds into specially designed hybrid nanoantennas with extreme precision, the team achieved record photon collection at room temperature -- a necessary step for quantum technologies such as quantum sensors, and quantum-secured communications. The article was selected as a Featured Article in APL Quantum. Diamonds have long been prized for their sparkle, but researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in collaboration with colleagues from the Humboldt University in Berlin are showing they achieve an almost optimal "sparkling," a key requirement for using diamonds also for quantum technology. The team has approached an almost perfect collection of the faintest light signals, single photons, from tiny diamond defects, known as nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers...

  Cellular membrane proteins play many important roles throughout the body, including transporting substances in and out of the cell, transmitting signals, speeding up reactions and helping neighboring cells stick together. When they malfunction, it can cause serious diseases including cancer, making them attractive drug targets. But understanding how membrane proteins behave and function can be challenging because their position within the cell's lipid membrane—a tightly-packed double layer of fat-like molecules—makes them difficult to study. Now, Scripps Research scientists have developed a new computer-driven strategy to understand how these proteins work at the atomic level. Published on October 7, 2025, in PNAS, the team designed synthetic membrane proteins that are easier to study in the lab—while also revealing the structural basis for how some maintain their shape. Scientists can use this method to design new drugs, biotechnology and therapeutics that target membrane prote...

 In a groundbreaking discovery, astronomers have directly imaged a young planet, WISPIT 2b, forming inside a gap in a protoplanetary disk around a star. This marks the first time scientists have confirmed the presence of a planet in one of these disk gaps, long suspected to be created by growing planets themselves. According to NASA, WISPIT 2b is a massive gas giant, about five times the mass of Jupiter and just five million years old - nearly 1,000 times younger than Earth. It orbits a young star called WISPIT 2, located about 437 light-years from Earth. Protoplanetary disks are made of gas and dust and surround young stars, acting as birthplaces for new planets. Gaps in these disks often appear as dark rings, and scientists have theorised that planets forming within the disks are responsible for carving out these spaces. Until now, however, no planet had ever been directly observed in one of these gaps. In a groundbreaking discovery, astronomers have directly imaged a young plan...

Scientists have devised a new blood test that can help identify head and neck cancers up to 10 years before the symptoms appear. Researchers from Harvard-affiliated Mass General Brigham published their findings in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, highlighting that by catching cancers early, patients may experience higher treatment success and require a less intense regimen. Human papillomavirus (HPV) is responsible for an estimated 70 per cent of head and neck cancers in the US, making it the most common cancer caused by the virus, the study showed. Despite this, there is no screening test for HPV-associated head and neck cancers. To address the issue, the researchers developed a novel liquid biopsy test, called HPV-DeepSeek, that can detect HPV-related head and neck cancers early, before symptoms develop. "Our study shows for the first time that we can accurately detect HPV-associated cancers in asymptomatic individuals many years before they are ever diagnosed with...