Scientists from the Institute of Theoretical Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have developed a new theoretical framework, the generalized trap model (GTM), to explain the universal aging behavior observed in glassy materials. This framework, published in _Science Advances_, posits that aging in glasses—which are disordered systems stuck in a non-equilibrium state—is driven by activated hopping across energy barriers. The GTM reveals a universal distribution of barrier heights, incorporating finite-size corrections, that governs the slow dynamics. A key prediction is "weak ergodicity breaking" occurring above the glass transition temperature, where systems remain correlated with their initial state. The researchers validated this theory across diverse models, including spin glasses and amorphous silica, demonstrating universal mathematical laws in glass aging and linking logarithmic decay to finite-size "activation clusters," supporting the RFOT theory and offering insights into fields beyond materials science.