Science
The latest in science news, from the depths of space to the quantum realm.
Camera captures the world as animals see it, with up to 99% accuracy
January 25, 2024
It’s easy to forget that most animals don’t see the world the way humans do. In fact, many perceive colors that are invisible to us. But now, for the first time, scientists have found a way to capture footage as seen by animals, and it's mesmerizing.
Energy
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Drilling into magma: Risky plan takes geothermal to supercritical extremes
May 08, 2024The Krafla Magma Testbed "has the potential to be for geoscientists what the Large Hadron Collider has been for particle physicists." So say researchers working on the project to drill into a magma chamber to explore massive geothermal power. -
Sea-bed 'air batteries' offer cheaper long-term energy storage
May 06, 2024Israeli company BaroMar is preparing to test a clever new angle on grid-level energy storage, which it says will be the cheapest way to stabilize renewable grids over longer time scales. This innovative system lets water do the work. -
Lithium-free sodium batteries exit the lab and enter US production
May 02, 2024Natron Energy fell a little behind schedule on production plans for its sodium batteries but officially commenced production of the rapid-charging, long-life lithium-free batteries this week, bringing to market an intriguing new storage alternative.
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Medical
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5:2 fasting diet's anti-inflammatory effects come down to two proteins
May 08, 2024A 5:2 intermittent fasting regime – eating for five days, fasting for two – protected against liver inflammation and didn’t cause weight gain, say researchers, who also identified the proteins that provide this protective effect. -
'New' genetic Alzheimer's disease may impact 6.7 million Americans
May 08, 2024A study has found that having two APOE4 genes may not just be a risk factor in Alzheimer's disease, but a driver of it. Nearly all carriers' brains showed key disease biomarkers by age 65, suggesting it may instead be a type of inheritable Alzheimer's. -
Spinal red-light therapy protects and regenerates damaged nerve cells
May 06, 2024Applying red-light therapy to a damaged spinal cord protects and regenerates nerve cells, leading to a return of motor and sensory function, according to new research. The treatment could expand limited treatments for people with spinal cord injuries.
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Space
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Video: Sleek SpaceX suit to make its runway debut on Polaris Dawn mission
May 06, 2024Bridging fashion and functionality, SpaceX has revealed what its astronauts will be wearing on the first-ever private spacewalk in 2024. In a new video, the company details the features of the suit that will be space-tested on the Polaris Dawn mission. -
Video: Ill-fated Boeing Starliner launch scrubbed due to faulty valve
May 06, 2024Boeing's attempt to put two astronauts into orbit has been scrapped. At 8:33 pm EDT, the launch of the Starliner spacecraft was called off due to engineering problems with the oxygen release valve of the Centaur second stage of the Atlas V rocket. -
Deep-space lasers smash data speed records over interplanetary distances
May 06, 2024NASA’s Psyche spacecraft, farther away than the Sun, has sent data through a laser over a record-breaking distance, and done so even faster than expected. The breakthrough could help establish high-speed communications with human colonies on Mars.
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Materials
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Glass waste and trash-ash find their way into better, greener bricks
May 08, 2024Bricks made of discarded glass and recycling-waste ash have been shown to insulate better than regular bricks, while also requiring less energy to produce. And of course, they additionally use materials which would otherwise end up in landfills. -
Copper coating turns touchscreens into bacteria killers
May 03, 2024If there's one thing that needs to be antibacterial, it's the public touchscreen displays that everyone paws at with their filthy fingers. Well, help is on the way, in the form of a newly developed copper coating. -
Strong shape-memory adhesive could put Spider-Man to shame
May 02, 2024Forget radioactive spiders – a new breakthrough could make it easier to get Spider-Man’s wall-crawling powers. Scientists in Singapore have created a strong and reusable adhesive out of a shape-memory polymer, triggered by temperature changes.
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Biology
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Would we exist if Earth's magnetic field hadn't collapsed 500m years ago?
May 05, 2024The Earth’s magnetic field is vital for life – without it, the Sun’s radiation would sterilize the planet. But a new study suggests we wouldn’t be here at all if that magnetic field hadn’t almost completely collapsed half a billion years ago. -
Wild orangutan engaged in never-before-seen wound-healing behavior
May 03, 2024For the first time ever, a wild male orangutan in Sumatra has been spotted tending to a wound on his face in an ingenious way. The technique worked, adding even more cred to the intelligence of this striking and endangered species of great ape. -
'Genetic programs' allowed the ancestor of all plants to conquer dry land
May 03, 2024We now know just how the earliest land plants, ancient algae, conquered terrestrial Earth hundreds of millions of years ago and laid the (literal) groundwork for all subsequent life. It highlights the fascinating genetic strategies of plant evolution.
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Environment
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Tiny tenacious robots snatch bacteria and microplastics out of the water
May 08, 2024Scientists have developed tiny "robots" which appear to be very effective at removing microplastics pollution from water. What's more, the little bots also target the harmful bacteria that often hitch a ride on the plastic particles. -
Plastic embedded with plastic-eating spores is degradable – and tougher
April 30, 2024A new biodegradable plastic embedded with spores of plastic-eating bacteria manages to break down 90% of the material after five months in landfill. Weirdly, this actually made the plastic tougher and stronger during use. -
Soybean waste used to grow good "green" food for farmed fish
April 26, 2024Fish farming may be getting much more eco-friendly, courtesy of soybean processing wastewater. Microbes in the liquid have been used to produce proteins that could replace the fishmeal which is currently fed to farmed fish.
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Physics
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Think you understand evaporation? Think again, says MIT
April 25, 2024We all know that water evaporates when the temperature climbs, but researchers have just shown that there's another factor at play. The breakthrough could solve long-standing atmospheric mysteries and lead to future technological advances. -
Free software lets you design and test warp drives with real physics
April 16, 2024Warp drives are among the more plausible of science fiction concepts, at least from a physics perspective. Now, a group of scientists and engineers has launched open-source software that lets you design and test scientifically accurate warp drives. -
Professor Peter Higgs, renowned for Higgs boson prediction, dies aged 94
April 09, 2024Professor Peter Higgs has died aged 94. The theoretical physicist was best known for his prediction of a key elementary particle, the Higgs boson, which earned him the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physics soon after its discovery.
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Electronics
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AI synthesizer bridges technology and creativity in music composition
February 15, 2024SPIN challenges conventional notions of music creation by inviting users to collaborate with an AI language model called MusicGen. With its distinctive blend of a turntable and a drum machine, SPIN offers users a creative music composition tool. -
Eye-tracking window tech tells sightseers about what they're looking at
January 05, 2024If you're on a sightseeing tour in a bus, you really don't want to be looking away from the passing attractions to Google them on your smartphone. The AR Interactive Vehicle Display is intended to help, by showing relevant information on the vehicle's window glass. -
Diamond data storage breakthrough writes and rewrites down to single atom
December 05, 2023Diamond is a promising material for data storage, and now scientists have demonstrated a new way to cram more data onto it, down to a single atom. The technique bypasses a physical limit by writing data to the same spots in different-colored light.
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Quantum Computing
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Diamond-stretching technique makes qubits more stable and controllable
November 30, 2023Researchers are claiming a breakthrough in quantum communications, thanks to a new diamond-stretching technique they say greatly increases the temperatures at which qubits remain entangled, while also making them microwave-controllable. -
Perovskite LED unlocks next-level quantum random number generation
September 05, 2023Random numbers are critical to encryption algorithms, but they're nigh-on impossible for computers to generate. Now, Swedish researchers say they've created a new, super-secure quantum random number generator using cheap perovskite LEDs. -
Silicon quantum computing surpasses 99% accuracy in three studies
January 19, 2022Three teams of scientists have achieved a major milestone in quantum computing. All three groups demonstrated better than 99 percent accuracy in silicon-based quantum devices, paving the way for practical, scalable, error-free quantum computers.
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