New way to make materials “breathe” with ultrafast light
Scientists at Cornell Engineering have found a way to make a thin film material expand and contract billions of times per second by hitting...
Batteries whisper before they fail — and scientists have learned to listen
Before a battery dies, loses power suddenly, or even catches fire, it doesn’t stay completely silent.
It makes tiny, faint sounds—like whispers—that reveal what’s happening...
Cornell’s new chip design slashes AI energy use by 20%
Artificial intelligence (AI) is getting stronger every year—but also more power-hungry.
Running large AI models takes a lot of electricity, raising concerns about the environmental...
Does the multiverse explain the nature of the universe
One possibility to explain the constants of nature is that there’s more than one universe.
That we live in a multiverse, with each different universe...
Giving 3D images a new life on next-gen AR displays
Augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) headsets have come a long way in recent years, but one problem continues to frustrate users: eyestrain.
The discomfort comes...
Talking robots could help ease the burden of caregivers
Caring for a loved one can be one of life’s most meaningful roles, but it often comes with heavy emotional costs.
Many informal caregivers—people who...
Is dark energy changing? New evidence challenges Einstein’s theory
For more than two decades, astronomers have wrestled with one of the biggest mysteries in science: what is driving the universe’s expansion to speed...
How tiny defects threaten perovskite solar cells
Perovskite solar cells have been hailed as the next big thing in renewable energy.
They are cheaper and easier to produce than traditional silicon solar...
Scientists create first real-time shape-changing robot
Imagine a robot that can change its shape on demand, twisting, bending, or stretching without needing its magnetic field altered.
This is the breakthrough achieved...
Forever chemicals found in 95% of beer products in the U.S.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, are often called “forever chemicals” because they do not break down easily in the environment or the human...
Robots learn to hike on their own in virtual wilderness
Humanoid robots may soon be able to handle rugged trails as well as people do, thanks to new research from the University of Michigan.
A...
Astronomers catch a planet in the act of being born
Protoplanets are celestial objects in the act of forming into full planets within the gas and dust disks surrounding hot, young stars.
These objects, often...
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Women’s menstrual cycles synchronize with moon cycles, study shows
In a new study, researchers used scientific methods to examine the connection between lunar and women's menstrual cycles.
They suggest that in ancient times, human...
We can’t see the first stars yet, but we can see their direct descendants
If you take a Universe worth of hydrogen and helium, and let it stew for about 13 billion years, you get us.
We are the...
New hybrid material could make lithium-ion batteries charge faster, last longer
A team of scientists from South Korea has developed a new material that could make lithium-ion batteries charge faster, last longer, and store more...
Deadliest period in Earth’s history was also the stinkiest, shows study
Generally, scientists believe Siberian volcanos spitting greenhouse gases primarily drove the mass extinction event about 250 million years ago, at the end of the...
Scientists discover complex life on Earth began 1.5 billion years earlier than thought
A new study claims that complex life on Earth began around 1.5 billion years earlier than previously believed.
An international team of scientists has uncovered...