SMRTR Science & Engineering

Science & Engineering stories

Get hand-picked daily summaries of the best, most informative science and engineering articles from around the web. Browse recent summaries, then jump to the original source when you want the full article.

Latest story• Jul 19, 2025

Starbase injury rates outpace rivals as SpaceX chases its Mars moonshot

Starbase, SpaceX's Texas facility developing the Starship rocket, has significantly higher injury rates than industry averages. In 2024, Starbase reported 4.27 injuries per 100 workers, nearly 6 times higher than comparable facilities. This high rate has persisted since 2019, raising concerns about worker safety as SpaceX rapidly progresses on Starship development. The data suggests SpaceX's ambitious goals may come...

Read summary Original source

Latest stories

Can life exist without sunlight? Energy from fractured rocks shows that it can

Underground rock fractures produce massive amounts of hydrogen, providing energy for microbial life without sunlight. Researchers discovered that crustal faulting generates chemical reactions sustaining deep subsurface...

Read summary Original

Milky Way’s Fermi Bubbles Hold a Chilling Secret

In a stunning discovery, astronomers found cold gas clouds within the Fermi bubbles, vast structures of superheated plasma at the Milky Way's center. These unexpected pockets of cool hydrogen gas, detected using the Green Bank...

Read summary Original

Brain Activity Patterns Reveal Why Waking Up from Sleep Can Be So Difficult

A wave of wakefulness sweeps across the brain, starting at the front and rippling to the back. This surprising insight comes from a new study that meticulously mapped the brain's journey from slumber to alertness. Using 256...

Read summary Original

Second life supercharge: US firms transform used EV batteries to satiate AI power hunger

GM and Redwood Materials are reusing old EV batteries for energy storage, powering an AI company's 63 MWh microgrid in Nevada, which addresses AI data center power needs and supports sustainability goals while creating a...

Read summary Original

In Cancer Research, AI Models Learn to See What Scientists Might Miss

Researchers compared multi-instance learning frameworks with attention mechanisms for classifying breast tumor whole slide images. Two approaches were evaluated for tumor and TP53 mutation detection in breast and lung cancers....

Read summary Original

SMRTR Science & Engineering

Get the next batch of curated stories in your inbox.

This archive is built from SMRTR newsletter stories. Subscribe for hand-picked stories without the extra noise.

More recent stories

Another big car company gives up on hydrogen

Stellantis has discontinued its hydrogen fuel cell program due to infrastructure limitations, high costs, and lack of incentives, aligning with industry trends as other automakers also shift focus to battery electric vehicles.

Read summary Original

‘Spring cleaning’ process unlocks human eggs’ mystery for decades-long survival

Human eggs maintain longevity by slowing down internal waste disposal systems. A study of over 100 donated eggs revealed that lysosomes, proteasomes, and mitochondria operate at 50% lower activity compared to surrounding cells,...

Read summary Original

Metallic nanoflowers heal brain cells and extend lifespan in stunning new research

Researchers at Texas A&M have developed metallic "nanoflowers" that can heal brain cells from within by restoring mitochondrial function. These microscopic particles improved cell health in lab tests and extended the lifespan of...

Read summary Original

US firm’s gecko feet-inspired ‘tow truck for space’ tested, could correct satellite orbits

The REACCH system, a gecko and octopus-inspired robotic arm developed by Kall Morris Inc., has been tested on the ISS and can grab various objects in space without docking ports, potentially revolutionizing satellite servicing...

Read summary Original

Scientists make 'magic state' breakthrough after 20 years — without it, quantum computers can never be truly useful

Scientists have achieved a breakthrough in quantum computing by demonstrating "magic state distillation" on logical qubits for the first time. This process, crucial for running complex quantum algorithms, was performed on QuEra's...

Read summary Original

New Interstellar Object 3I/ATLAS’s Biggest Mysteries Explained

Astronomers have discovered 3I/ATLAS, the third known interstellar object in our solar system. This suspected comet is speeding past Jupiter's orbit and will exit our system by year's end. Scientists are rushing to study it using...

Read summary Original

Why broken crystals are stronger

Researchers from the University of Osaka developed a mathematical model using differential geometry to describe crystal defects. Published in Royal Society Open Science, the study offers a unified approach to understanding...

Read summary Original

This flat chip uses twisted light to reveal hidden images

Scientists have developed a new method to control the interaction of light with chiral structures using metasurfaces. These 2D lattices of tiny elements can tune their chiral properties by varying the orientation of meta-atoms,...

Read summary Original

World’s first glimpse of electron tunnels helps solve 100-year-old quantum mystery

Scientists have made a groundbreaking discovery in quantum mechanics, observing electron tunneling for the first time. Using intense laser pulses, researchers found that electrons collide with atomic nuclei inside energy...

Read summary Original

Robots can now feel difference between pat and punch with new artificial nerves

The neuromorphic chip, developed by KAIST researchers, mimics human touch response in robots, using memristors to ignore safe stimuli and react quickly to dangers, as demonstrated in a robotic hand distinguishing between safe...

Read summary Original

World’s most powerful particle accelerator sees first-ever matter-antimatter difference

Scientists at CERN's Large Hadron Collider observed an asymmetry in baryon behavior, indicating why the universe is matter-dominated. This first detection of charge-parity violation in baryons shows matter and antimatter interact...

Read summary Original

The most massive black hole merger ever detected shakes up astrophysics

A groundbreaking cosmic event, GW231123, has been detected: the most massive black hole merger ever recorded. Two rapidly spinning black holes with masses of 100 and 140 solar masses merged to form a new black hole 225 times the...

Read summary Original

Multiples and powers mod 1

The distribution of xn mod 1 for real numbers x > 1 is examined. For most x, the sequence is uniformly distributed in [0, 1]. However, exceptions exist, like √2 and the golden ratio, where patterns emerge. The uniform...

Read summary Original

Astronomers See Planet Formation ‘Time Zero’ in an Alien Solar System

A cosmic keyhole has given astronomers a glimpse into the birth of planets. Using the James Webb Space Telescope and Chile's ALMA array, researchers have peered through a gap in the dusty cocoon surrounding HOPS-315, a baby star...

Read summary Original

Why do cats like concrete slabs?

Cats are showing a peculiar interest in concrete blocks, prompting curiosity among pet owners. Experts suggest this behavior may be due to concrete's rough texture for scratching, its shape resembling boxes, and cats' natural...

Read summary Original

The Large Hadron Collider Discovers Antimatter Behaving Oddly in New Class of Particles

LHCb scientists observed that baryons with beauty quarks decay more often than their antimatter counterparts, marking the first detection of CP violation in baryons and advancing our understanding of matter dominance in the...

Read summary Original

Dogs can detect Parkinson’s years before symptoms—with 98% accuracy

Trained dogs can accurately detect Parkinson's disease from skin swab odors, a new study reveals. In double-blind trials, dogs showed up to 80% sensitivity and 98% specificity in distinguishing samples from people with and...

Read summary Original

Enormous blobs deep beneath Earth's surface appear to drive giant volcanic eruptions

Massive "blobs" in Earth's deep mantle connect to the surface via hot rock columns called mantle plumes, triggering giant volcanic eruptions and explaining major volcanic events throughout history.

Read summary Original

Back to all archives Load more stories