Scientists create switchable mirrors from liquid metal
Researchers have developed a way to dynamically switch the surface of liquid metal between reflective and scattering states. This technology could one day be used...
Scientists could now determine age of diamonds, and what made them
Diamonds are sometimes described as messengers from the deep Earth. Scientists study them closely for insights into the otherwise inaccessible depths from which they come. But...
Scientists find unprecedented mercury accumulation in Pacific Ocean trenches
A new study has revealed unprecedented amounts of highly toxic mercury are deposited in the deepest trenches of the Pacific Ocean. The study, a multi-national...
What is a calorie? Are food calories bulloney?
Did you know that the calorie labels on foods are only required to be accurate within 20%? That’s a pretty wide margin, but it exists...
How a tougher skin could change the shape of stealth aircraft
Stealth fighters and bombers are among the most expensive aircraft in the world, and they rely on a radar-absorbent polymer skin to avoid detection. But...
This compound in candles lights the way to grid-scale energy storage
A compound used widely in candles offers promise for a much more modern energy challenge—storing massive amounts of energy to be fed into the...
Opioid overdose deaths are rising. Can we make less addictive painkillers?
Opioids are the most powerful painkillers we have, but they’re incredibly addictive. Tens of thousands of people in the U.S. die of an opioid overdose...
Was your catalytic converter stolen? Here’s why
Catalytic converters cut down on toxic car emissions. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, they’re one of the greatest environmental inventions of all time. Today,...
Scientists create the whitest paint ever made
To curb global warming, engineers have created the whitest paint ever made. Coating buildings with this paint may one day cool them off enough to...
This sweat sensor could alert doctors, patients to looming COVID cytokine storm
Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, doctors recognized that patients who developed a "cytokine storm" -- a surge of pro-inflammatory immune proteins -- were often...