exact sciences

Israeli study: Repeated cosmetic treatments may take on addictive properties

Israeli study: Repeated cosmetic treatments may take on addictive properties

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One in five women in the sample who had undergone cosmetic treatments was at moderate to high risk for a pattern of compulsive use. The factors most strongly associated with this were low body image and problematic use.
Prof. Jaynandra K. Jain at the Wolf Prize Ceremony in the Knesset

Wolf Prize winner Jainendra Jain in a special interview: How entangled electrons became composite fermions

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The Wolf Prize laureate in physics explains how the idea of ​​composite fermions solved the mystery of the fractional quantum Hall effect, what the connection is between his theory and the experiments of Motti Heiblom and James Eisenstein, and why he accepted it.
Prehistoric animal paintings on the wall of the Pont-de-Gome cave in France

Hidden charcoal allows famous cave paintings in France to be dated for the first time

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Non-invasive tests have revealed charcoal in black paintings in the Pont-de-Gome cave in France. The charcoal makes it possible to directly date some of the figures for the first time and build a basis for a more precise timeline of cave art in the region.
Inside the Large Hadron Collider tunnel at CERN during one of the previous shutdowns in 2014. Photo: Avi Blizovsky

Large Hadron Collider shuts down for four years, paving way for a new era

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After the last scientific collisions in June 2026, the LHC will be shut down for a major upgrade. When it returns in 2030 as the HiLumi LHC, it will produce many more collisions and enable a precise search for new physics.
Nuclear clock. Illustration: depositphotos.com

The first nuclear clocks have begun ticking – opening a window to new physics

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Researchers in Europe and China have activated clocks based on energy transfer in thorium-229 nuclei. They are not yet as accurate as the leading atomic clocks, but they offer a new way to probe dark matter and fundamental forces.
Space-time network. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Not a time machine: This is how researchers made a quantum system look like it was going backwards

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Researchers have developed a feedback method that can cancel and even reverse the arrow of time observed in a monitored quantum system. The method could be used to extract energy from measurements and prepare quantum states.
A jumping spider is not susceptible to certain optical illusions, and it may have four pairs of eyes—a hint that it may perceive time differently than humans and other animals. Illustration: depositphotos.com

From dragonfly to starfish: Why don't animals see time at the same pace?

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Flying animals and predators chasing prey perceive visual changes much faster than slow-moving animals. Extensive research reveals how lifestyle and environment have shaped the “picture rate” of visual systems.
The quantum world. Illustration: depositphotos.com

For the first time: Physicists quantum entangle the motion of atoms

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Researchers have demonstrated Bell correlations between pairs of entangled helium atoms in their state of motion. The experiment extends the testing of quantum mechanics to particles with mass and may help in future studies of the connection between quantum mechanics and gravity.
Portrait of the French mathematician Jacques Hadamard, one of the central figures in the history of modern mathematics

Jacques Hadamard: The Mathematician Who Connected Scientific Genius with Moral Commitment

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Jacques Hadamard was an extraordinary French mathematician who contributed to number theory, mathematical physics, and the study of mathematical thought. His life combined scientific achievements, family tragedies, and a deep commitment to justice and human rights.
An illustration of collaboration between human mathematicians and artificial intelligence in mathematical research.

Artificial intelligence helps solve mathematical problems that have remained open for decades

Artificial intelligence is no longer just a writing or coding tool. New cases show that ChatGPT and Claude are helping solve open mathematical problems, including Erdoğan problems, and are also forcing senior mathematicians to update their

Europe has chosen the next particle accelerator: a giant 91-kilometer-long ring at CERN

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The European Strategy for Particle Physics has designated the Future Circular Collider as the next flagship project after the LHC. The accelerator will initially operate as a “Higgs factory,” but final construction approval is not expected until 2028 at the earliest.
Radiation emission resulting from illumination of the material. Credit: Tomer Bar Lev. Created with the assistance of Gemini

Technion researchers have developed a new model for designing smart light sources

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The study, published in Optica, explains how properties of luminescent materials and temperature determine the color, intensity, and randomness of light. The findings could help develop advanced light sources, optical sensors, and heat-based photonic systems.
Physicists are investigating whether time itself can behave according to the rules of quantum mechanics, and not just serve as a fixed backdrop for events. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Physicists propose an experiment in which time itself would exhibit quantum behavior

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A new study proposes using ultra-precise atomic clocks to test whether the flow of time can be found in a quantum superposition. The researchers hope to measure for the first time a single clock “ticks” at multiple rates simultaneously.
Visualization of vortices and “dark spots” within a light field — the phenomena measured in new research from the Technion, confirming that they may move faster than the speed of light without violating the theory of relativity. Credit: Nature (2026), DOI: 10.1038/s41586-026-10209-z.

For the first time, “spots of darkness” within light waves — confirming a 50-year-old prediction of faster-than-light motion

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A new study from the Technion published in Nature has measured dark spots within light waves for the first time and confirmed that they may move faster than the speed of light without violating relativity.
A tiny photonic device printed directly onto a VCSEL laser chip and concentrates dozens of light sources onto a single optical fiber.

Hebrew University researchers have developed a tiny device that concentrates dozens of VCSEL lasers into a single optical fiber

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A 3D-printed photonic device, developed in collaboration with Civan Lasers and published in Nature Communications, demonstrated coupling of up to 37 multimode lasers into a single fiber with low loss and an extremely compact structure.
Anthony James Leggett. Photo: University of Illinois

Anthony Leggett (1938–2026): Nobel laureate who worked at the forefront of quantum physics

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Avshalom Elitzur bid farewell to Anthony James Leggett, winner of the 2003 Nobel Prize in Physics, and recalled his personal meetings with him, his contribution to the study of superconductors and superfluids, and his part in shaping the discussion on the foundations of quantum theory.
The subtle scent left behind by ancient Egyptian mummies may hold much more information than previously thought. By analyzing volatile chemical compounds emitted into the air from mummified remains, researchers have been able to uncover new details about how embalming methods evolved over more than two millennia. Illustration: depositphotos.com

How do mummies smell? Chemical analysis reveals the secrets of ancient Egyptian mummification

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Researchers from the University of Bristol have identified 81 volatile organic compounds in thousands of years old mummified samples, showing how embalming materials have become more complex and sophisticated over the generations.
A small system designed to mimic the behavior of a real molecule when exposed to light. A look inside the system | The University of Sydney

Capture the chemistry in real time

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Using a simple single-atom system allowed researchers to observe the superfast processes that occur in light-sensitive molecules
The curators look after many specimens collected by Charles Darwin, which continue to contribute to scientific research today. Credit: Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London

Scientists solve a 200-year-old museum mystery: What do Darwin's jars contain?

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Laser spectroscopy technology enables non-invasive chemical analysis of preserved Charles Darwin specimens, improving long-term preservation of museum collections
Edward Teller, 1958. From Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain

Edward Teller: From Warning of a “Nazi Bomb” to Vision of the Hydrogen Bomb

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How did exiled scientists from Europe accelerate the Manhattan Project, and why does the “father of the hydrogen bomb” remain a controversial figure to this day?
Prof. Yigal Talmi, 2012. Photo: Weizmann Institute Spokesperson

The death of a scientist and pioneer. The Weizmann Institute bids farewell to Prof. Yigal Talmi

A mathematical bot. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Haifa University developed a bot that generates customized math tasks: “He is the most creative student I have ever met”

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After years of developing “literal math” tasks, mathematics education and artificial intelligence researchers have trained a model that can structure problems by grade, subject, and learning stage – including “teasers” that were difficult for humans to develop.
Satellite image of a winter storm in the American northwest. Source: CIRA

Pacific winter storm track moving north faster than forecast

Shifting storm tracks due to climate change is warming and drying out large areas of the American Northwest.
An innovative theory of heat conduction in matter.

Taming Heat: New Theory Allows for Directing Heat Flow in Materials

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The theory developed by researchers at the Technion and Cambridge has potential applications such as energy production and protection of heat-sensitive equipment.
The quantum interference experiment as seen under an electron microscope. Using bilayer graphene, scientists controlled the trajectory of an anion in the material (in red). They made its wave go around an island containing a magnetic field and other anions (in green) and then brought it back together with the original wave to study its properties. The electrical gates (in dark gray) allow scientists to direct the anions along specific paths in the material and also determine the density of electrons in the island.

Weizmann Institute scientists identify quantum "memory particles" – a step towards a durable quantum computer

Weizmann Institute of Science scientists have found new evidence for the existence of a system of particles that "remembers" which quantum states it was in before, taking another step toward a fault-tolerant quantum computer.
Figure caption: Schematic illustration of the EAST tokamak operation during an electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH-assisted Ohmic start-up). Credit: Ning Yan.

China moves closer to igniting fusion thanks to breakthrough in high-density plasma

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Scientists working with China's Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) have succeeded in reaching a state long predicted by theorists, known as the "density-free regime."
Figure: Spin-locking effect of photons scattered from nanoparticles in a fluid moving randomly due to Brownian motion. Courtesy of Prof. Erez Hasman, Technion

Order from Chaos: Brownian Motion “Locks” the Spin of Photons in a Liquid

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A study in Nature Materials from the Technion and China presents a new phenomenon in which light scattering from randomly moving nanoparticles creates measurable order – and may enable particle characterization and new optical methods.

Universal quantum coupler from Tel Aviv University could reduce the cost of a photonic quantum computer tenfold

Tel Aviv University's Quantum Pulse Ventures presents a universal quantum coupler for photonic quantum computing, which reduces error rates and hardware requirements – and could enable the construction of quantum computers for about 100 million
The relationship between the various formulas of pi. Illustration: Ramanujan's group led by Prof. Ido Kaminer from the Viterbi Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the Technion.

The "Ramanujan Machine" group from the Technion reveals deep connections between hundreds of formulas and the constant π

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Diagram: Space-based search for ultralight bosons and a prototype quantum sensor. Including a gas-vapor chamber, multilayer magnetic shielding, fiber-optic gyroscope, and radiation shielding box. Credit: Science China Press

Chinese scientists turn Earth into a giant quantum sensor to uncover new physics

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Orbital quantum sensing, spin-sensing, SQUIRE, exotic interactions, axion halos
He has won many awards for his scientific work, including the Israel Prize and the Wolf Prize. Meir Wilczek in the laboratory | Photo: Kobi Kalmanovich, A.M.T. Prize, Wikipedia

The scientist with a connection to life: 90th anniversary of Meir Wilczek, the Holocaust survivor who conquered the world of biochemistry

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From a hungry child who wandered through camps, exile, and kolkhozes in Kyrgyzstan – to a leading scientist at the Weizmann Institute, developer of affinity chromatography and the avidin-biotin system, winner of the Israel Prize and the Wolf Prize: Prof. Meir Wilczek celebrates 90 and continues
A leap forward in optics. Illustration: Tel Aviv University

A leap forward in optics: Artificial intelligence accelerates the design of tiny metasurfaces

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Tel Aviv University researchers have developed a diffusion model-based method that designs flat optical components in minutes — instead of hours and days — and demonstrates high accuracy in tasks such as beam splitting and polarization separation; Published
Terrorism in test tubes. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Microsoft developed 75,000 new toxins with the help of artificial intelligence – to fight biological terrorism

Controlled experiment demonstrates how open models can bypass DNA sequence filtering — leading to industry-wide update of filtering software; goal: thwart bioterrorism before it starts
Portrait photograph of Emanuel Lasker in his old age: silver print, black and white, 12X16.5. According to the stamp on the back of the photograph, it was produced by the German news agency Transocean, probably in the early 1920s. From Wikimedia

Emanuel Lasker: The Genius on the Chessboard and Among the Ideas of the Period

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Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2025 winners. Ill. Niklas Elmehed © Nobel Prize Outreach

Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2025: The MOF Revolution – Metal-Organic Frameworks for Gas Capture and Green Energy

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Three researchers – Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson and Omar Yagi – have won the Nobel Prize for developing novel porous materials capable of storing, filtering and trapping molecules, with applications ranging from medicine to the climate crisis.

Nobel Prize in Physics 2025: Quantum tunneling, superconductors and quantum computers

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This year, three researchers from the University of Santa Barbara won for a series of groundbreaking experiments that established the superconducting qubit – the central component that scientists around the world are now using to build quantum computers. In the article
Nobel Prize in Physics for the discovery of quantum properties. © Johan Jarnestad/The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences

Nobel Prize in Physics 2025 "for the discovery of macroscopic quantum tunneling and the quantization of energy in an electric circuit"

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The Swedish Academy has announced that John Clark, Michelle Deborah and John Martinis have won the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics for their discovery of quantum phenomena in hand-held electrical circuits.
When archaeology and physics meet, new depths are revealed. Illustration courtesy of Tel Aviv University

Breakthrough: Using Muons from Cosmic Radiation to Identify and Map Underground Spaces at Archaeological Sites

A multidisciplinary team at Tel Aviv University has developed the technology that will enable "X-ray imaging" of the underground for archaeological excavations.
Space-time. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Does space-time really exist?

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Is time something that flows—or just an illusion? Examining space-time as a fixed or dynamic fabric reveals deeper questions about existence, change, and the true nature of reality.
The five senses, or maybe seven? Illustration: depositphotos.com

Mathematical study suggests: Seven senses – not five – are optimal for human memory

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Skoltech researchers have developed a new model of brain anagrams, suggesting that maximum memory capacity is obtained in a seven-dimensional concept space – with implications for artificial intelligence and neuroscience
This artistic rendering depicts small, primordial black holes. In reality, such tiny black holes would struggle to form the accretion disks that would make them appear as they do here. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

Physicists: Within a decade, we may see a primordial black hole exploding

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New research from the University of Massachusetts Amherst indicates a probability of up to 90% for a primordial black hole to explode in the next decade – an event that could provide direct evidence of Hawking radiation and reveal the full list of all the universe's dark matter.
Master's student Mania Malhotra leads photonic origami research. Photo: Tel Aviv University

New Development: "Photonic Origami" – Folding Glass for Microscopic 3D Optical Devices

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Allows folding glass for microscopic 3D optical devices * New method enables design of high-performance glass structures on a silicon chip, for future applications in data, sensing and physics

The measurement problem

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Does the wave function describe reality or only our knowledge of it? Three fundamental problems—the result, the statistics, and the effect—reveal that the issue of measurement is not just a philosophical question.
A laser beam strikes glass particles. Credit: Lorenzo Dania (ETH Zürich)

Room-temperature quantum breakthrough shakes physicists

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Scientists have achieved a breakthrough in quantum research by showing that nanoparticles can exhibit quantum rotational oscillations even at room temperature—without cooling them to near absolute zero.
The game show was based on valuable prizes, such as kitchen appliances, a living room furniture set, or the highlight: a car. The game show set "We Did Business", Monty Hall in the center | Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The goat hiding behind the curtain: The Monty Hall problem and why you should replace the door

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From the studio of “We Did Business” to a lesson in probability — four ways of explanation, computer simulations and the debate sparked by Marilyn Vos-Swant show: The exchange increases the chance of winning by two-thirds
Experimental diagram: Two single atoms act as cracks. The scattered light is recorded with a highly sensitive camera. Credit: MIT / Courtesy of the researchers

MIT refutes Einstein: Two-slit experiment in the most accurate quantum version

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Physicists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have succeeded in proving that it is impossible to simultaneously observe the wave and particle nature of light – using individual atoms and quantum photons, thereby confirming Niels Bohr's predictions.
A fluorite crystal containing atoms of the radioactive substance thorium-229, which was used to precisely measure the absorption spectrum of atomic nuclei at the PTB institute in Braunschweig, Germany. Previously, researchers had to capture several atomic nuclei in each experiment and test them with a single radiation frequency, which took a long time to achieve accurate measurements. The PTB measurement used a crystal in which about a quadrillion (a thousand trillion) atoms are embedded, allowing many tests to be performed simultaneously using precise laser beams. Credit: PTB

The dark side of time: A nuclear clock may reveal dark matter

A nuclear clock is the next big promise in measurement. Weizmann Institute of Science scientists have devised a method that allows us to harness tomorrow's technology to search for dark matter today.

Bell's Inequality – Not What You Thought

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Dr. Noam Hai debunks the myths surrounding Bell's inequality and clarifies what it really says – and what it doesn't. Does quantum mechanics put an end to determinism, or are we perhaps giving up too quickly?
Atomic clock. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Scientists reset the clock: a big step towards redefining the second

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By comparing optical clocks in six countries, researchers have succeeded in making coordinated measurements with unprecedented precision – a significant step towards establishing a new global time scale.
Laser pulses induce electronic changes on the cuprate scale, creating long-lasting quantum states that last about a thousand times longer than normal. Credit: Brad Baxley / Part to Whole

Quantum time freezing: Lasers freeze quantum states a thousand times longer

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Using powerful laser and X-ray pulses, researchers from Harvard and the Scherrer Institute have succeeded in breaking electronic symmetry and trapping a long-lasting quantum state – a move that could lead to breakthroughs in information storage and optoelectronic devices.
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