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Latest story• Jun 23, 2025

Featherlight nanomaterial pulls clean drinking water from air, absorbs 3x its weight

Scientists have developed a nanomaterial that efficiently harvests drinking water from air. The calcium-intercalated graphene oxide aerogel absorbs over three times its weight in water and releases it with mild heat, potentially addressing global water scarcity. This material combines graphene oxide and calcium to create hydrogen bonds that attract water molecules. Shaped into a porous aerogel, it absorbs water...

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Is Mathematics Mostly Chaos or Mostly Order?

A chilly Finnish wilderness might seem an unlikely setting for mathematical breakthroughs, but it's where Juan Aguilera and his colleagues unveiled two provocative new notions of infinity. These "exacting" and "ultraexacting"...

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What the Universe tried to hide: The 21-centimeter signal explained

Astronomers have devised a method to study the universe's first stars by analyzing a 21-centimeter radio signal from hydrogen atoms, originating 100 million years post-Big Bang. This signal could reveal key information about...

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Breakthrough magnet design could transform MRI and magnetic levitation

The new method for generating homogeneous magnetic fields using permanent magnets surpasses the Halbach arrangement, offering higher field strengths and improved homogeneity in compact setups, as demonstrated with 16 FeNdB...

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‘World’s simplest’ nuclear reactor concept gets safety approval in Finland

Finland's nuclear safety authority found Steady Energy's LDR-50 small modular reactor concept fit for generating nuclear energy. The company will continue developing the design based on feedback, aiming to demonstrate key safety...

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Quantum embezzlement: An entanglement trick once thought impossible exists for real

Quantum embezzlement, once thought impossible, has been demonstrated in large but finite fermion systems by German scientists. This phenomenon allows one system to supply entanglement to another without being affected itself. The...

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Scientists shocked as glass bottles found to shed 50x more microplastics than plastic

A new French study found that glass bottles shed 5 to 50 times more microplastics than plastic ones, contradicting assumptions about glass being cleaner. Beer, soda, and lemonade had the highest contamination, with particles...

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In a first, Chinese scientists monitor heat flow at atomic level using electron beam

Scientists used electron beam technology to observe atomic-level heat flow between aluminum nitride and silicon carbide, revealing high thermal resistance at interfaces, which could improve heat management in compact electronics.

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Universe is built on three dimensions of time, suggests new research

A physicist proposes a new theory suggesting the universe is fundamentally built on three dimensions of time, not spacetime. Dr. Gunther Kletetschka's model generates particle mass values matching real-world observations,...

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A shark scientist reflects on Jaws at 50

Steven Spielberg's iconic film Jaws turns 50, leaving a lasting impact on shark perception and conservation. The 1975 blockbuster sparked widespread fear of sharks, influenced public policy, and inspired a generation of marine...

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‘Major Anomaly’ Behind Latest SpaceX Starship Explosion

SpaceX's Starship rocket exploded during a ground test in Texas, destroying the upper stage for the next test flight. The blast occurred during propellant loading for a static fire test. Elon Musk suggested a high-pressure...

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How the Universe and Its Mirrored Version Are Different

Chirality, the existence of distinct "handed" versions of objects from molecules to particles, impacts various phenomena and may provide insights into fundamental aspects of our universe.

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Quantum breakthrough: ‘Magic states’ now easier, faster, and way less noisy

Osaka University researchers created a "level-zero" magic state distillation method for quantum computing, improving accuracy and efficiency while reducing qubit requirements, potentially accelerating the development of...

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Driverless cars can now make better decisions, US scientists validate new technique

Researchers have validated a new technique to help driverless cars make ethical decisions in traffic scenarios. The method, based on the Agent Deed Consequence model, tests how people judge the morality of driving decisions...

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Scientists split water molecules for green hydrogen using only solar energy

Scientists have developed a scalable solar-powered device for producing green hydrogen by splitting water molecules. The system, created by Indian researchers, uses a silicon-based photoanode with an innovative semiconductor...

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Psyche keeps its date with an asteroid, but now it’s running in backup mode

NASA's Psyche spacecraft has resumed normal operations after fixing a propulsion system issue. The mission to the metallic asteroid Psyche is now on track for a 2029 arrival. Engineers restored functionality by switching to a...

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Astronomers capture ultra-detailed image of nearby Sculptor galaxy

The Very Large Telescope captured a detailed image of the Sculptor galaxy, revealing 500 planetary nebulae across 65,000 light-years, which will aid research on gas flow, star formation, and galactic distance measurement.

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What is the Bitcoin proof-of-work problem?

Bitcoin's proof of work system requires miners to find a specific string that, when double-hashed with SHA256, produces a value below a target threshold. This string combines block data and a nonce. The difficulty adjusts over...

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400 mph in 7 seconds: China’s maglev breaks speed barriers with new record

A train that can accelerate to 400 mph in just 7 seconds? It's not science fiction, but the latest breakthrough from China's maglev research program. Engineers at Hubei's Donghu Laboratory have shattered speed records, propelling...

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We may finally know how Tylenol works — and it's not how we thought

Scientists have discovered how acetaminophen (Tylenol) relieves pain. A byproduct called AM404 blocks pain signals in nerves before they reach the brain. This finding changes our understanding of the drug's mechanism and could...

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Perovskite image sensor catches 3x more light, could transform cameras, medical imaging

The new perovskite-based image sensor captures triple the light of silicon sensors, using stacked layers for specific wavelengths without color filters, potentially revolutionizing digital imaging across various fields with...

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China builds nuclear neutron gun that shoots ‘atomic flashlight’ to detect bombs

Chinese researchers have created a portable nuclear fusion device generating intense neutron beams. The compact apparatus uses hydrogen and lithium, powered by 10 watts of direct current. It produces a concentrated neutron beam...

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ESA's XMM-Newton finds huge filament of missing matter

Astronomers have discovered a massive hot gas filament spanning 23 million light-years and connecting four galaxy clusters. This finding could explain some of the universe's "missing" matter, with the filament containing ten...

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'A bundle of microscopic tornadoes' may have given the universe its structure

New theoretical work suggests that ultralight dark matter might form spinning clumps with tiny vortices, behaving like a superfluid. Simulations show these dark matter halos could develop internal lattices of microscopic vortices...

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