Why sodium-ion batteries could charge faster than lithium ones
As the world moves toward cleaner energy and electric technologies, better batteries are becoming more important than ever.
Batteries power everything from phones and laptops...
Why some rotating machines waste the most energy at a specific speed
Many machines we rely on every day—from industrial mixers and cooling systems to power transmission devices—use rotating parts to move liquids.
In many real-world systems,...
We think of mushrooms as food. But mycelium-based blocks could be the future of...
When mushrooms make the news, it's often for grim reasons—a mysterious poisoning, toxic species in the bush, or high-profile court cases.
But the mushroom itself...
Scientists create smart fabrics that defy physics and absorb impact
Most of us expect materials to behave in a familiar way. When you pull on fabric, it stretches longer and becomes thinner.
This is true...
Why the next generation of robots will have tendons instead of motors
At the Soft Robotics Lab at ETH Zurich, the scene looks less like a traditional engineering workshop and more like a child’s playroom mixed...
The ‘hobbits’ mysteriously disappeared 50,000 years ago. New study reveals what happened to their...
About 50,000 years ago, humanity lost one of its last surviving hominin cousins, Homo floresiensis (also known as "the hobbit" thanks to its small...
Webb finds signs of a thick atmosphere on an ultra-hot super-Earth
Astronomers using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope have found the strongest evidence yet that a rocky planet outside our solar system can hold on...
A simple non-stick trick could make green hydrogen much cheaper
A material best known for keeping eggs from sticking to frying pans may help solve one of clean energy’s biggest challenges.
Researchers have discovered...
This robotic dog can remember every step—and it could save lives
Imagine a robotic dog that can see its surroundings, remember where it has been, understand spoken instructions, and make smart decisions in real time.
That...
This new chip uses sound waves to grab and move tiny objects
Sound is usually something we hear, not something we touch.
But researchers at Virginia Tech have found a way to turn acoustic waves into invisible...
Why city raccoons rarely cross the road
Raccoons have a reputation for being curious, clever, and fearless, especially in cities where they rummage through trash cans and explore human spaces.
But new...
Scientists create powerful new tool to explore the microbial universe
Microbes are everywhere. They live in our bodies, in soil, in the oceans, and even in the air we breathe.
These microscopic organisms play a...
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Buying a home? Scientists find 55 dangerous chemicals in building materials
In a new study from the University of Michigan, researchers found many of the chemicals in a home's building materials—in the scent of new...
Meteorites reveal likely origin of Earth’s volatile chemicals
About half of Earth’s zinc inventory was delivered by material from the outer Solar System, beyond the orbit of Jupiter.
Scientists create a brand-new platform for stable quantum computing
Move over Godzilla vs. King Kong.
This is the crossover event you’ve been waiting for — at least if you’re a condensed-matter physicist.
Harvard University researchers...
Columbia scientists unlock new path to room-temperature superconductors
Imagine electric cars that charge wirelessly while driving, computers that are hundreds of times faster, and clean energy flowing without waste.
These ideas might sound...
Scientists observe ultra-rare particle decay, opening door to new physics
Scientists at CERN have made an exciting discovery that could change our understanding of the universe's fundamental building blocks.
The discovery involves an ultra-rare particle...