University of Texas

A strange fossil discovered in Antarctica almost a decade ago has finally been identified. Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin have determined that the object is a giant, soft-shell egg, most likely laid by an ancient marine reptile.

Heating and cooling systems are huge consumers of energy, so passively cooling buildings and electronics could help the environment. A new photonic film could be just the ticket, made with a micro-structure inspired by a beetle that likes it hot.

Researchers claim to have identified the world's oldest bug. The specimen is a millipede found on an island in Scotland, and it dates back 425 million years. The team says that the finding implies that insects underwent a rapid phase of evolution.

While a gigantic asteroid slamming into the Earth is never a sign of good luck, a new study has shown that the dinosaur-killing asteroid hit the planet at the deadliest possible angle, maximizing the devastating climate change that followed.

Among the promising alternatives to today's energy storage technologies are lithium-sulfur batteries, though they tend to quickly degrade and die. A new design promises to change that through the integration of a rare metalloid called tellurium.

Although driving while high can certainly be dangerous, there are currently few devices that can be used for roadside cannabis-use checks. That could be about to change, though, thanks to research from the University of Texas at Dallas.

Keeping vaccines cool and safe for use is a real problem when it comes to distributing them to remote or developing areas, but a new delivery method from scientists at University of Texas at Austin could give these efforts a huge boost.

Honeybee numbers are falling to colony collapse disorder (CCD), which has devastating implications for global ecosystems and agriculture. But now, researchers have engineered bacteria that can help bees fend off two of the main causes of CCD.

New evidence suggests that snow may be falling within the broiling hot core of planet Earth. Of course, this isn’t your everyday surface snow – these flakes would be made of iron, settling onto the solid inner core through the more fluid outer core.

While some powered exoskeletons give able-bodied users "superstrength," others are designed simply to let physically-challenged people move about normally. A new version of the latter is said to be much lighter and more user-responsive than others on the market.

If you care about clothing styles in the first place, then it can be difficult, trying to determine if your outfit is fashionable. It would be great if your phone could tell you, and with the new Fashion++ app, it may soon be able to do just that.

Refrigeration and air conditioning could use a boost in efficiency. On that road, researchers have now developed an unusual new technique that could lead to "twist fridges", which cool by unraveling fibers that are tensely twisted.