Webb spots the ‘smoke’ from crashing exocomets around a nearby star
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) was involved in yet another first discovery recently available in pre-print form on arXiv from Cicero Lu at...
Engineers find a way to watch desalination membranes clog in real time
As freshwater shortages worsen around the world, desalination—turning seawater into drinkable water—is becoming increasingly important.
But the technology that powers most desalination plants has a...
Why quantum computers “remember” their mistakes—and why that matters
Quantum computers promise to solve problems far beyond the reach of today’s machines, but there is a stubborn obstacle standing in the way: errors.
Unlike...
New manufacturing method pushes solar cell efficiency past 26%
Solar energy continues to grow as a key pillar of the global energy transition, but improving performance while keeping costs low remains a constant...
Scientists solve a big bang theory puzzle that could point to dark matter
For years, one of the most intriguing mysteries in physics has been dark matter—an invisible substance thought to make up most of the matter...
How ants could inspire the next generation of antibiotics
As hospitals around the world struggle with dangerous drug-resistant infections, scientists are increasingly looking to nature for solutions.
Surprisingly, one promising source may be crawling...
How a bamboo-inspired design helps detect dangerous helium escapes
Helium may seem harmless—it’s the gas that makes balloons float and voices squeak—but in enclosed spaces, a helium leak can be dangerous.
Because helium is...
Scientists discover 125,000-year-old elephant tracks in southeastern Spain
For the first time, scientists have uncovered fossilized footprints of large land animals preserved in ancient coastal sand dunes in the Spanish region of...
Not just cold and conflict: Roman troops at Hadrian’s Wall battled parasites
Nearly 2,000 years ago, Roman soldiers stationed on the edge of the empire faced more than cold winds, enemy raids, and homesickness.
New research shows...
New study reveals a massive hidden alphabet inside entangled light
Quantum entanglement is often described as a mysterious link between particles, but new research shows it may be even richer than scientists once imagined.
A...
Ancient “living rocks” absorb carbon day and night in South Africa
Along the coast of South Africa, strange rocky formations quietly grow in places where life seems unlikely to survive.
These structures, known as microbialites, look...
Beyond “junk DNA”: Scientists find a hidden gene that controls cell size
Every cell in our body has a “just right” size.
If cells grow too large or too small, the consequences can be serious, contributing to...
FEATURED
Scientists shrink OLEDs to nano-size, unlocking ultra-sharp displays
Researchers at ETH Zurich have created some of the smallest light-emitting diodes ever made—so tiny that thousands of them could fit inside a single...
Tauonium: The tiny atom that could unlock big secrets of the universe
Once considered the simplest of all, the hydrogen atom consists of a proton and an electron.
However, recent scientific advances have revealed even simpler atoms...
Ancient fossils reveal oldest known insect larval eyes with sharp vision
Scientists have discovered the oldest fossil evidence of insect larvae with highly developed eyes, revealing that some ancient larvae had advanced vision much earlier...
Scientists create quantum states in everyday electronics
After decades of miniaturization, the electronic components we’ve relied on for computers and modern technologies are now starting to reach fundamental limits.
Faced with this...
Quantum dots are part of a revolution in engineering atoms in useful ways –...
The 2023 Nobel Prize for chemistry isn’t the first Nobel awarded for research in nanotechnology. But it is perhaps the most colorful application of the technology to be associated...