As part of NASA’s Artemis campaign, a cutting-edge X-ray imager, the Lunar Environment Heliospheric X-ray Imager (LEXI), is heading to the Moon to capture the first global images of Earth’s magnetic field, which protects our planet from harmful solar radiation. LEXI is one of 10 scientific payloads onboard the upcoming lunar mission, set to launch from Kennedy Space Center in Florida no earlier than mid-January. The payload will ride aboard Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Lander under NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative.

LEXI’s primary mission is to support NASA’s understanding of how Earth’s magnetosphere—its magnetic shield—responds to space weather, which is driven by solar activity. By taking detailed X-ray images of this protective barrier, the instrument will provide insights into the dynamic processes that shape our planet’s interaction with the solar wind and other cosmic forces.

Imagine a world so minuscule it challenges the limits of human perception — the nanoscale. To visualize this, consider shrinking a single strand of human hair a million times over. In this incredibly tiny realm, atoms and molecules govern a universe of properties and behaviors that are largely uncharted — until now.

Researchers Deepak Singh and Carsten Ullrich, along with their teams of students and postdoctoral fellows at the University of Missouri’s College of Arts and Science, have made a groundbreaking discovery: the identification of a new type of quasiparticle present in all magnetic materials, regardless of their strength or temperature. This discovery opens up a new frontier in our understanding of magnetism and could revolutionize multiple fields of technology.

Voyant Photonics has officially launched its Carbon FMCW lidar sensor, a cutting-edge solution designed to provide affordable, high-performance lidar on a chip. This new sensor, developed for applications in industrial automation, robotics, and security, offers solid-state beam steering and high-resolution, millimeter-precision detection. The company aims to push the boundaries of machine perception with a sensor that delivers advanced capabilities at a disruptive price point.

At the heart of the Carbon sensor is a silicon photonic chip that is small enough to fit on a fingernail. Despite its compact size, the Carbon sensor offers high-resolution, real-time object detection and the ability to perform static and dynamic segmentation at distances of up to 200 meters (656 feet). Voyant integrated optics directly onto the lidar photonic integrated circuit (PIC), which allows for better performance at a fraction of the cost of traditional lidar technologies.

A comprehensive survey across 143 countries has highlighted how well various nations are equipped to support the world’s rapidly aging population, particularly in terms of well-being, equity, and security. As the global population ages, some countries are more prepared than others to handle the challenges and opportunities this demographic shift presents.

The aging of the world’s population is largely seen as a success story, reflecting advances in healthcare, medicine, and public health. A look back at 1950 reveals that the chances of a baby born in a high-income country surviving to 90 were just 4.8%. Today, that number has risen to 26.7%, with projections estimating that 50% of babies born today in high-income countries will reach that milestone by 2060. But with this longer life expectancy comes the question: Is the world socially and economically ready for an aging population?

Hearview glasses are a groundbreaking piece of technology designed to help those with hearing impairments stay connected in real-time. The glasses connect wirelessly to a smartphone, which runs the Hearview app. This app listens to conversations around the user, transcribes speech into text using artificial intelligence, and displays the transcribed words on a tiny, see-through screen built into the glasses.

The system supports 13 languages and, while there is a slight delay in transcription, this doesn’t pose a major issue, especially if the user cannot hear the spoken words directly. For many, the real-time text display offers a smooth and accessible way to engage in conversations.