August Science News Recap
ICFO’s summary of news highlights of the scientific discoveries and stories from the month of August 2025.
August was packed with different scientific discoveries, results and findings that have sparked different stories to share. We've gathered the most important updates to keep you in the know. Whether you missed a few of them or just want a quick recap, our summary of August’s top scientific news has you covered. Dive in and catch up on everything that happened this month.
News 1
ICFO researchers overcome long-standing bottleneck in single photon detection with twisted 2D materials
While studying layered two-dimensional materials (which are only one-atom thick), ICFO researchers observed an anomaly—an unexpected transition in the system’s state triggered by light. That anomaly turned out to be single-photon sensitivity with extraordinary properties which were previously inaccessible: the ability to detect long-wavelength photons (up to the mid-infrared) at relatively high temperatures (around 25 degrees Kelvin).
The results of this study, published in Science, open the door to a wide range of applications, from bioimaging to observational astronomy and quantum technologies. This milestone has caught the attention of the European Space Agency (ESA), which is seeking the use of detectors with these type of properties for space exploration.
Date: August 7, 2025
Topic: Two-dimensional materials
ICFO Researchers: Dr. Krystian Nowakowski, Dr. Hitesh Agarwal, Dr. Julien Barrier, Dr. David Barcons Ruiz, Dr. Geng Li, Riccardo Bertini, Matteo Ceccanti, Dr. Iacopo Torre, Dr. Antoine Reserbat-Plantey, led by Dr. Roshan Krishna Kumar and ICREA Prof. at ICFO Frank Koppens,
News 2:
TinyBrains: Four years of teamwork towards better infant brain monitoring
The TinyBrains project officially wrapped up at the end of June 2025. Funded by the EU’s Horizon 2020 programme, TinyBrains has brought together researchers, clinicians, and engineers from across Europe to develop a new non-invasive neuromonitoring platform for newborns with congenital heart defects.
As the coordinating institution, ICFO has led the efforts in device development, integration, and validation, while also coordinating the project management, exploitation and communication. The team worked closely with partners to design the head cap, carry out the technology integration and testing, and design and conduct the preclinical and clinical studies. Currently, data collection is still ongoing at Hospital Sant Joan de Déu in Barcelona, where newborns with congenital heart defects are being monitored.
Date: August 12, 2025
Topic: Medical Optics
News 3:
Quantum memory array at ICFO brings us closer to a quantum RAM
In a major step toward realizing memory systems that works as flexibly as the random-access memory (RAM) in today’s classical computers, researchers at ICFO have developed an array of ten individually controllable quantum memories that can store multiple qubits simultaneously and recall them when needed.
This solid-state system, reported in Physical Review X, is based on a previous configuration that held 250 available “slots” to potentially store a photon —the current world record for a solid‑state device with on-demand retrieval. The system brings us closer to the quantum equivalent of a RAM, and could serve as a building block for generating large-scale entangled states —a key resource for quantum computing— or dramatically boost the efficiency of entanglement distribution across long distances —a foundational task for future quantum communication networks.
Date: August 26, 2025
Topic: Quantum communication
ICFO researchers: Dr. Markus Teller, Susana Plascencia, Cristina Sastre Jachimska, Dr. Samuele Grandi, led by ICREA Prof. Hugues de Riedmatten.