Stimulating the brain with electromagnetic therapy after stroke may help reduce disability
Electromagnetic network-targeted field (ENTF) therapy combined with physical therapy led to a 22% higher rate of freedom from disability in stroke survivors compared to sham treatment, with improvements across disability levels and no serious adverse effects. Findings are based on two small trials, indicating the need for larger studies to confirm efficacy.

The analysis found:

• The percentage of participants who achieved freedom from disability was 22% higher in the ENTF group compared to the group that received the sham treatment (33.8% versus 11.9%, respectively).
• Measurable improvements were also seen in ENTF participants' disability levels across the full range of disability outcomes, with both less moderately to severe disability (mRS of 3–5) and less moderate disability (mRS of 2).
• No serious adverse effects were reported among participants who received ENTF therapy.

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-01-brain-electromagnetic-therap...

Ultra-thin metasurface can generate and direct quantum entanglement

Quantum technologies, devices and systems that process, store, detect, or transfer information leveraging quantum mechanical effects, have the potential to outperform classical technologies in a variety of tasks. An ongoing quest within quantum engineering is the realization of a so-called quantum internet: a network conceptually analogous to today's internet, in which distant nodes are linked through shared quantum resources, most notably quantum entanglement.

Researchers have developed a new ultra-thin metasurface that could contribute to this goal, as it can control the behaviour of light, while also generating and directing entanglement across many channels.

This metasurface, presented in a paper published in Physical Review Letters, has so far proved to be promising for the development of scalable and integrated quantum technologies.

Much like today's internet relies on light traveling through optical fibers, a future quantum internet will rely on entangled photon pairs—particles of light whose properties remain linked even when they are far apart. These entangled photons are essential for tasks such as quantum teleportation, secure communication, and distributed quantum computing.

In networks of quantum devices, information is typically transmitted via a quantum effect known as entanglement.

Quantum entanglement entails a connection between two or more particles, which ensures that their individual quantum states cannot be described independently from the state of others that they are entangled with, even when they are far apart.

The researchers' recent study builds on their earlier efforts to develop ultra-thin and nanostructured metasurfaces that could be used to create reliable quantum technologies. In 2020, the researchers introduced a metasurface that can simultaneously generate several polarization states of light. Two years later, they extended this idea to quantum optics, by engineering a metasurface that can route already entangled photons in desired ways.

In their new paper, they demonstrated that two photons that are initially not entangled can pass through a single, carefully designed metasurface and emerge entangled—simply due to quantum interference within the structure.

The new metasurface developed by them is only a few tenths of a millimeter wide and consists of nanoscale silicon pillars arranged on a glass. When two photons with different polarizations (i.e., intrinsic property related to the orientation of light rather than its color or intensity) pass through it, this surface splits them into multiple output paths. Because of quantum interference, whenever the photons emerge in any chosen pair of paths, they form a well-defined entangled state.

In their experiment, seven output paths produce 21 entangled photon pairs, all sharing quantum entanglement.

Yajun Gao et al, Interference-Induced Entanglement Engineering on a Metasurface, Physical Review Letters (2026). DOI: 10.1103/mzmv-7x98.

Warning of kidney cell damage from high exposure to nanoplastics

As concerns rise about the effects of tiny plastic particles on human health,  researchers have led new research on whether nanoplastics can accumulate or cause damage in kidneys—our body's major blood filtering system. Their study, just published in the journal Cell Biology and Toxicology, calls for more investigations into the long-term risks, warning that high nanoplastics (NPs) particle "burden" could seriously compromise kidney cell health and function.

The findings demonstrate that while lower concentrations of NPs (less than 1 micron or 0.001mm in diameter) may not result in immediate toxicity to the kidney cells, particularly in terms of short-term exposure, higher burdens can compromise overall cell health and function, causing changes to the cell shape, survival and cell regulation.

The results also indicate that the effects are influenced not only by concentration but also by polymer composition and particle size, with some combinations inducing significant cellular changes even at relatively low doses.

The research team says sustained or repeated damage to regulatory kidney cells could impair kidney function, reduce filtration efficiency, clearance capacity, and lead to their potential buildup of NPs in kidney tissue over time.

Hayden Louis Gillings et al, Nanoplastic toxicity and uptake in kidney cells: differential effects of concentration, particle size, and polymer type, Cell Biology and Toxicology (2026). DOI: 10.1007/s10565-025-10135-2