This 4D-printed smart skin can transform its shape and reveal hidden images
Most synthetic materials are made to do just one or two things. Once they are created, their properties rarely change.
A research team at Penn...
Safer plastics ahead: Scientists make polyurethane without toxic chemicals
Polyurethane is one of the most widely used plastics in the world.
It appears in everything from furniture foam and insulation to coatings, adhesives, and...
Why one of Earth’s most common ocean bacteria is surprisingly fragile
One of the most abundant living organisms on Earth may also be one of the most vulnerable.
A group of ocean bacteria known as SAR11,...
This nickel catalyst could change how drugs and materials are made
Chemists at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have developed a new class of nickel catalysts that could significantly change how important chemicals are made.
The...
Sponge-like gold shows powerful new light and electron effects
Gold is best known for its shine and value, but in modern science it is also an important high-tech material.
New research shows that by...
Webb Telescope spots rare five-galaxy merger just 800 million years after the big bang
Astronomers have spotted an unexpected and dramatic event in the early universe: a tightly packed collision involving at least five galaxies just 800 million...
Think bottled water is cleaner? It may contain more microplastics than the tap
Many people choose bottled water believing it is cleaner and safer than tap water. But new research suggests that this assumption may not always...
430,000-year-old wooden tools found in Greece rewrite early human history
Archaeologists have uncovered the earliest known hand-held wooden tools ever used by humans, and the discovery is changing what we know about early technology.
Found...
What an ancient jellyfish can teach us about the evolution of sleep
An upside-down jellyfish drifts in a shallow lagoon, rhythmically contracting its translucent bell.
By night that beat drops from roughly 36 pulses a minute to...
Electric eels inspire a new kind of soft, powerful battery
From medical implants to soft robots, many emerging technologies need power sources that are flexible, safe, and able to work inside or near living...
MIT scientists turn waste heat into computing power with 99% accuracy
Researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology have demonstrated a surprising new way to compute—by using heat instead of electricity.
In a proof-of-concept study published in...
Ancient DNA solves a 12,000-year-old medical mystery
Scientists have uncovered the oldest known genetic diagnosis of a rare inherited disease, thanks to advances in ancient DNA research.
By analyzing the DNA of...
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Why solid-state batteries could change everything
A new type of battery is on the horizon that could make our phones charge in minutes, electric cars drive farther, and even help...
Evolutionary elements arrived on Earth much later than thought
A large proportion of the elements carbon and nitrogen, as well as the compound water, were not delivered to Earth until very late in...
Worm love: How roundworms choose their mates and what it tells us
Scientists have discovered something pretty cool about tiny worms and how they find their partners.
These aren't just any worms, though; they're roundworms, some of...
Scientists find earliest life may have arisen in ponds
In a new study, researchers have discovered that earliest life may have arisen in ponds, not oceans.
Primitive ponds may have provided a more suitable...
Lonely giant planets may build their own mini solar systems
A new study from the University of St Andrews has found that giant, starless planets drifting alone through space may be able to form...