But new research, led by the University of Bristol and published today in the journal Nature Electronics, could make all this and more a step closer to reality thanks to a radical breakthrough in semiconductor technology.

The futuristic concepts rely on the ability to communicate and transfer vast volumes of data much faster than existing networks. So physicists have developed an innovative way to accelerate this process between scores of users, potentially across the globe.

Co-lead author Martin Kuball, Professor of Physics at the University of Bristol, said: “Within the next decade, previously almost unimaginable technologies to transform a wide range of human experiences could be widely available. The possible benefits are also far-reaching, including advances in healthcare with remote diagnostics and surgery, virtual classrooms and even virtual holiday tourism.

“In addition, there is considerable potential for advanced driver assistance systems to improve road safety and industrial automation for greater efficiency. The list of possible 6G applications is endless, with the limit just being human imagination. So our innovative semiconductor discoveries are hugely exciting and will help drive forward these developments at speed and scale.”

It is widely acknowledged that the shift from 5G to 6G will demand a radical upgrade of semiconductor technology, circuits, systems, and associated algorithms. For instance, the main semiconductor components involved, in other words the radio frequency amplifiers made from a wonder conductor called Gallium Nitride (GaN), need to be much quicker, emit greater power, and be more reliable.

The team of international scientists and engineers has tested a new architecture, catapulting these special GaN amplifiers to unprecedented heights. This was achieved by discovering a latch-effect in GaN, which unlocked a much greater radio frequency device performance. These next generation devices use parallel channels which then require the use of sub-100nm side fins — a type of transistor which controls the flow of current passing through the devices.

Co-lead author Dr Akhil Shaji, Honorary Research Associate at the University of Bristol, explained: “We have piloted a device technology, working with collaborators, called superlattice castellated field effect transistors (SLCFETs), in which more than 1000 fins with sub-100 nm width help drive the current. Although SLCFETs have demonstrated the highest performance in the W-band frequency range, equating to 75 gigahertz -110 GHz, the physics behind it was unknown.

“We recognised it was a latch-effect in GaN, which enables the high radio frequency performance.”

The researchers then needed to pinpoint exactly where this effect occurred, by simultaneously using ultra precision electrical measurements and optical microscopy, so it could be further studied and understood. After analysing more than 1,000 fins findings located this effect to the widest fin.

Prof Kuball, who is also Royal Academy of Engineering Chair in Emerging Technologies, added: “We also developed a 3D model using a simulator to further verify our observations. The next challenge was to study the reliability aspects of latch effect for practical applications. The rigorous testing of the device over a long duration of time showed it has no detrimental effect on device reliability or performance.

“We found a key aspect driving this reliability was a thin layer of dielectric coating around each of the fins. But the main takeaway was clear — the latch effect can be exploited for countless practical applications, which could help transform people’s lives in many different ways in years to come.”

Next steps for the work include further increasing the power density the devices can deliver, so they can offer even higher performance and serve wider audiences. Industry partners will also be bringing such next generation devices to a commercial market.

Researchers at the University of Bristol are at the forefront of improving electrical performance and efficiency in a wide range of different applications and settings.

Professor Kuball leads the Centre for Device Thermography and Reliability (CDTR), which is developing next generation semiconductor electronic devices for net zero, and for communications and radar technology. It also works on improving device thermal management, electrical performance and reliability, using wide and ultra-wide bandgap semiconductors.

An international team led by researchers from the University of Adelaide and the University of Copenhagen reconstructed an 11,700-year ecological baseline for bowhead whales, which are a threatened Arctic native species.

Using computer models, fossils, and whaling records, the team mapped the location and size of suitable summer foraging habitat for bowhead whales over the entire Holocene, finding that until recently it remained constant despite significant climatic fluctuations.

However, they predict that future climate change will erode somewhere between 65-75 per cent of this foraging habitat by the end of the 21st century. In the Sea of Okhotsk, which is home to one of only four populations of bowhead whales, viable summer habitat is likely to vanish entirely by 2060.

The reason for the decline is the collapse of a tight association between bowhead whales and summer sea ice cover.

“Bowhead whales have preferred to forage amongst sea ice for many millennia,” said lead author Mr Nicholas Freymueller, from the University of Adelaide’s Environment Institute and the University of Copenhagen’s Globe Institute.

“However, Arctic sea ice has declined significantly in recent decades, and this is set to accelerate in coming decades, causing habitats where bowhead whales currently congregate in large numbers to be lost.”

The team also found that the few patches of suitable bowhead habitat predicted to remain in the year 2100 will exist outside their current distribution, directly impacting conservation policies.

“By identifying the extent and location of bowhead whale habitat that is likely to be lost in coming decades, our projections provide vital information to guide future management efforts of this emblematic species,” said Professor Eline Lorenzen, from the University of Copenhagen’s Globe Institute.

Bowhead whales are still recovering from four centuries of commercial whaling. They are considered emblematic because the ongoing threats they face are reflective of those which all Arctic marine mammal species face due to climate change.

“By using ecological models and paleo-archives to reconstruct pre-whaling distributions of bowhead whales, we were able to develop a much stronger understanding of the habitat preferences of this species that was nearly hunted to extinction,” said senior author Associate Professor Damien Fordham, from the University of Adelaide’s Environment Institute.

“This gives us improved confidence in our projections of habitat loss.”

The study, published in Ecology and Evolution, shows how past perspectives can strengthen predictions of species’ future vulnerability to rapid ocean warming.

Some spiral galaxies, including the Milky Way, exhibit a straight bar inside the spiral pattern. This bar structure helps channel gas towards the center of the galaxy where it can be used to form new stars. But why bars form in only about half of spiral galaxies, and how they influence the evolution of the galaxy are unanswered questions.

To study the evolution of spiral galaxies in the early Universe, researchers led by Shuo Huang, a project researcher at the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan and Nagoya University, used the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) radio telescope to observe a massive barred spiral galaxy known as J0107a that existed 11.1 billion years ago. Located in the constellation Cetus, J0107a is a “monster” galaxy, meaning a galaxy growing rapidly in the early Universe by forming many new stars. Because they are located far away, it has been difficult to see the detailed structure of monster galaxies and determine what is driving this vigorous star formation. Recently the improved resolution provided by the James Webb Space Telescope has revealed spirals and even bars in some of the monster galaxies. J0107a is the earliest and most massive barred spiral galaxy known to date, so it is the best target for studying the evolution of barred spiral galaxies in the early Universe.

The team found that in J0107a the distribution and motion of gas in the bar is similar to modern galaxies. But compared to modern galaxies, the concentrations of gas are several times higher and the speed of the gas flow is faster, reaching several hundred kilometers per second. Astronomers believe that this massive influx of gas to the center will fuel signification additional star formation, helping to drive the evolution of this monster galaxy. This is the first time these features have been observed, and they were not predicted by theoretical or simulation models.

Huang comments, “We expect that the detailed information about the distribution and movement of gas gained through these observations will provide important clues for exploring not only the origins of the diversity of galaxies, but also the formation and evolution of more normal barred spiral galaxies.”

By analysing data from the Cassini-Huygens mission, a joint venture between NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Italian Space Agency, the team have shown that the thick, hazy atmosphere of Saturn’s largest moon doesn’t spin in line with its surface, but instead wobbles like a gyroscope, shifting with the seasons.

Titan is the only moon in the Solar System with a significant atmosphere, and one that has long captivated planetary scientists. Now, after 13 years of thermal infrared observations from Cassini, researchers have tracked how Titan’s atmosphere tilts and shifts over time.

“The behaviour of Titan’s atmospheric tilt is very strange!” said Lucy Wright, lead author and postdoctoral researcher at Bristol’s School of Earth Sciences. “Titan’s atmosphere appears to be acting like a gyroscope, stabilising itself in space.

“We think some event in the past may have knocked the atmosphere off its spin axis, causing it to wobble.

“Even more intriguingly, we’ve found that the size of this tilt changes with Titan’s seasons.”

The team studied the symmetry of Titan’s atmospheric temperature field and found that it isn’t centred exactly on the pole, as expected. Instead, it shifts over time, in step with Titan’s long seasonal cycle — each year on Titan lasts nearly 30 years on Earth.

Professor Nick Teanby, co-author and planetary scientist at Bristol said: “What’s puzzling is how the tilt direction remains fixed in space, rather than being influenced by the Sun or Saturn.

“That would’ve given us clues to the cause. Instead, we’ve got a new mystery on our hands.”

This discovery will impact NASA’s upcoming Dragonfly mission, a drone-like rotorcraft scheduled to arrive at Titan in the 2030s. As Dragonfly descends through the atmosphere, it will be carried by Titan’s fast-moving winds — winds that are about 20 times faster than the rotation of the surface.

Understanding how the atmosphere wobbles with the seasons is crucial for calculating the landing trajectory of Dragonfly. The tilt affects how the payload will be carried through the air, so this research can help engineers better predict where it will touch down.

Dr Conor Nixon, planetary scientist at NASA Goddard and co-author of the study, added: “Our work shows that there are still remarkable discoveries to be made in Cassini’s archive.

“This instrument, partly built in the UK, journeyed across the Solar System and continues to give us valuable scientific returns.

“The fact that Titan’s atmosphere behaves like a spinning top disconnected from its surface raises fascinating questions — not just for Titan, but for understanding atmospheric physics more broadly, including on Earth.”

The team’s findings contribute to a growing body of research suggesting Titan is not just Earth-like in appearance but an alien world with climate systems all its own, and many secrets still hidden beneath its golden haze.