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...

A simple carbon coating could transform sodium-ion batteries forever

Sodium-ion batteries are attracting growing attention as a greener and more affordable alternative to today’s lithium-ion batteries. Sodium is abundant, widely available, and cheaper than...

Your smartphones could become lifesaving radiation detectors in emergencies

After a nuclear or radiological accident, knowing who has been exposed to radiation—and how much—can save lives. But traditional ways of measuring radiation dose usually...

A 40-million-year-old ant hidden in Goethe’s amber still has stories to tell

More than 200 years after Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s death, his curiosity about nature is still leading to new discoveries. Scientists in Germany have now...

For the first time, scientists detect molecule critical to life in interstellar space

The chemical is known as thiepine, or 2,5-cyclohexadiene-1-thione (C₆H₆S), a ring-shaped sulfur-bearing hydrocarbon produced in biochemical reactions. When examining the molecular cloud G+0.693–0.027, a star-forming...

A new cosmic map reveals how dark matter built the universe we live in

Scientists have created the most detailed map yet of dark matter—the mysterious substance that makes up most of the universe and quietly shapes everything...

AI in breast screening can find more cancers

Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers among women worldwide. For decades, mammography screening has been one of the most important tools...

How one tiny particle connects two quantum worlds

Physicists at Heidelberg University have developed a new theory that brings together two long-separate ideas in quantum physics, offering a clearer picture of how...

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Why some quantum materials succeed while others never leave the lab

Quantum materials sound futuristic — their strange behaviors come directly from the laws of quantum physics, which govern how atoms and electrons interact. They can...

Scientists use asteroid data to investigate possible fifth force in the universe

In 2023, NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission returned a sample of dust and rocks from the near-Earth asteroid Bennu. This remarkable achievement not only provided scientists with...

Origins of COVID-19 still a mystery, new study shows

In a new study, researchers found that the highly-infectious SARS-CoV-2 virus is most ideally adapted to infect human cells—rather than bat or pangolin cells In...

Waste to watts: How cone-shaped carbon could power the future of batteries

As electric vehicles and renewable energy systems become more common, the world is searching for better, more affordable, and environmentally friendly battery options. A new...

Scientists discover the hidden force behind giant gold nuggets

Scientists have long been intrigued by how large gold nuggets, often found in quartz veins, are formed. New research from Monash University suggests that earthquakes...