Science
The latest in science news, from the depths of space to the quantum realm.
Camera captures the world as animals see it, with up to 99% accuracy
January 25, 2024
It’s easy to forget that most animals don’t see the world the way humans do. In fact, many perceive colors that are invisible to us. But now, for the first time, scientists have found a way to capture footage as seen by animals, and it's mesmerizing.
Energy
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Watch: Giant multibody wave energy converter flaps its way toward launch
September 09, 2024If you find yourself in the Australian port city of Albany and spot a humongous yellow machine bobbing in the waves of King George Sound, don't be alarmed. It's just a generator prototype making a case for renewable wave energy. -
Motionless turbines deliver super-efficient wind energy to BMW's factory
September 06, 2024Aeromine has installed a silent and motionless wind energy harnessing system on the roof of BMW's MINI manufacturing plant in Oxford, UK. They're meant to complement the factory's solar panels to produce clean energy, while taking up a lot less space. -
Better than expected: World's first semi-submersible floating wind farm
September 05, 2024The WindFloat Atlantic project – the world's first semi-submersible floating offshore wind farm – has exceeded expectations over the last four years of operation, generating a total of 320 GWh of electricity, enough to power about 25,000 homes each year.
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Medical
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Tiny implanted magnets make for better, simpler control of prosthetic hand
September 12, 2024While a number of groups are developing thought-controlled prosthetic hands, most of the devices require fiddly electrodes to be implanted in the amputee's body. Such is not the case with a new system, however, which works with implanted magnets. -
World-first study links belly fat to chronic pain
September 10, 2024In the first study of its kind, excess abdominal fat has been associated with chronic pain, but the good news is that losing weight that can reduce waistlines could help relieve widespread musculoskeletal conditions and greatly improve quality of life. -
Sleep apnea symptoms slashed by 50% with existing epilepsy drug
September 10, 2024A common childhood epilepsy drug has the potential to change the lives of millions of people who suffer from sleep apnea, as a clinical trial has delivered surprising results in reducing breathing interruptions and improving daytime alertness.
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Space
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Alien star could have side-swiped our solar system closer than Voyager
September 12, 2024Our solar system might still bear the scars from an extremely close shave with an alien star. Such an encounter – the closest pass we know of – would have shaken up objects on the outskirts and might even mean there’s no Planet Nine after all. -
Polaris Dawn prepares for first private spacewalk: How to watch
September 11, 2024Having completed its first day in orbit, the Polaris Dawn mission is preparing to make the first private spacewalk in history. Two astronauts are scheduled to exit the Dragon spacecraft Resilience at 2:23 am EDT and here's how to watch. -
First private spacewalk mission blasts into orbit
September 10, 2024The most ambitious private space mission yet, which will see the first private spacewalk, has lifted off. At 5:23 am EDT, the Polaris Dawn mission rose from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center atop a Falcon 9 rocket for low-Earth orbit.
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Materials
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No glue required: Wood and metal bonded with sound and 3D printing
August 28, 2024Manufacturing could be dramatically changed thanks to two new techniques for joining materials created by scientists in Austria. The two methods create super strong bonds at the pore level, eliminating the need for caustic adhesives. -
Stanford breakthrough promises 50% cheaper, cleaner lithium extraction
August 27, 2024You know how EVs and practically anything else that runs on lithium batteries aren't really all that 'green' because producing lithium takes a huge toll on the planet? -
Wildfire survival: Morphing aerogel could be key to saving structures
August 23, 2024A serendipitous discovery at Stanford revealed the properties of a material that changes form when exposed to flame. The finding holds promise for a spray coating that could protect homes from fire over four times as long as current solutions.
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Biology
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Watch: Ultra-rare baby wombat surprises all with shock photo shoot
September 06, 2024Seeing a wombat in regional Australia is not a rare experience, but when ecologists captured this particular one emerging from a den and casually wandering past a motion-sensor camera in the middle of the night, there was serious cause for celebration. -
Common food dye turns live mice transparent
September 05, 2024In an effort to enhance the research abilities of biologists, Stanford University researchers have discovered that applying a popular food coloring to the skin of mice allowed them to see through to the rodents' internal organs and other structures. -
Plunging beneath the freezing sea to combat antibiotic-resistant bacteria
September 03, 2024Science's war against the super-small and, sometimes, super-deadly bacteria that have evolved to resist destruction by antibiotics may have just enlisted new, unlikely allies: invertebrate creatures living in the frigid depths of the Arctic Ocean.
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Environment
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20-story-tall megatsunamis pose a real danger, scientists warn
September 03, 2024Scientists have recently warned that polar ice cap melt due to climate change might just be one of our concerns as megatsunami waves can give 330-ft-plus (100-m-plus) rise to the ocean in a matter of minutes. -
All-in-one solution captures and destroys ‘forever chemicals’ using light
August 30, 2024Proposed methods of removing toxic ‘forever chemicals’ from water have either only trapped the chemicals or broken them down. A new study has demonstrated a method that does both effectively. And it's quick and cheap. -
Fast-dissolving bio resin could drive recycling of wind turbine blades
August 29, 2024Although wind turbines generate electricity via an eco-friendly process, their blades end up in landfills once they wear out. That could change, however, thanks to a resin that would allow old blades to be broken down and recycled into new ones.
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Physics
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Superconductivity breakthrough: 'Edge state' atoms flow friction-free
September 11, 2024MIT scientists have coaxed atoms into an exotic “edge state” for the first time, allowing them to flow completely friction-free. The breakthrough could lead to better superconductor materials. -
World-first nuclear clock prototype could outperform atomic clocks
September 05, 2024Atomic clocks are our most accurate timekeepers, losing only seconds across billions of years. But nuclear clocks could steal their thunder, speeding up GPS and the internet. Now, scientists have built and tested the first prototype nuclear clock. -
Heaviest-ever clumps of antimatter created in atom smasher
August 22, 2024Physicists have created the heaviest clumps of antimatter particles ever seen. Known as antihyperhydrogen-4, this strange stuff could help us solve some of the most puzzling physics mysteries.
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Electronics
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GoPro's new Hero 13 flagship has swappable lenses – and a baby brother
September 06, 2024With interchangeable lenses, a magnetic mount, and a magnetic charger, GoPro Hero 13’s biggest upgrades are on the outside. But that’s not to say nothing's new on the inside; it gets a bigger battery with new power delivery and is priced at US$399. -
Simple li'l screen pairs with your keyboard to minimize distractions
August 26, 2024If you want to concentrate on your writing, you probably shouldn't be using a computer that's connected to the distracting internet or that's always sending alerts. That's where the BYOK comes in, as it doesn't let you do anything other than write. -
All-in-one polychromatic LEDs replace RGB for radically sharper screens
June 18, 2024While the Apple Vision Pro VR headset has a much-hyped resolution of 3,386 PPI (pixels per inch), a new technology more than doubles that figure. It was created by Los Angeles-based startup Q-Pixel, and it could revolutionize the world of video displays.
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Quantum Computing
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Diamond-stretching technique makes qubits more stable and controllable
November 30, 2023Researchers are claiming a breakthrough in quantum communications, thanks to a new diamond-stretching technique they say greatly increases the temperatures at which qubits remain entangled, while also making them microwave-controllable. -
Perovskite LED unlocks next-level quantum random number generation
September 05, 2023Random numbers are critical to encryption algorithms, but they're nigh-on impossible for computers to generate. Now, Swedish researchers say they've created a new, super-secure quantum random number generator using cheap perovskite LEDs. -
Silicon quantum computing surpasses 99% accuracy in three studies
January 19, 2022Three teams of scientists have achieved a major milestone in quantum computing. All three groups demonstrated better than 99 percent accuracy in silicon-based quantum devices, paving the way for practical, scalable, error-free quantum computers.
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