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Latest story• Oct 5, 2025

Scientists discover hidden protein that switches off hunger

German researchers discovered that a protein called MRAP2 acts as a crucial switch for controlling hunger by regulating the brain's appetite control receptor MC4R. Using advanced microscopy, scientists found that MRAP2 helps transport MC4R to cell surfaces where it can transmit hunger-suppressing signals. This reveals a new layer of appetite regulation beyond the known MC4R receptor, whose mutations are among the...

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The Mystery of How Quasicrystals Form

Quasicrystals, exotic materials discovered in 1982 whose atoms form never-repeating patterns with "forbidden" five-fold symmetry, have long puzzled scientists. Recent breakthrough research has solved this mystery by proving that...

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Swiss firm marries batteries and hydrogen with AI twist to power Europe’s energy grids

Swiss startup Plan-B Net Zero uses AI to coordinate battery and hydrogen storage systems, stabilizing power grids with renewable energy. Batteries manage quick fluctuations while hydrogen provides long-term seasonal storage.

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The Millikan Oil Drop Experiment to Determine the Charge of an Electron

Robert Millikan and Harvey Fletcher successfully measured the charge of a single electron in their famous 1909 oil drop experiment by suspending tiny charged oil droplets between electric plates. They found that electron charge...

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Saturn’s Moon Shows Major Signs of Life

Saturn's moon Enceladus is shooting complex organic molecules into space from its underground ocean, making it a strong candidate for finding alien life. NASA's Cassini spacecraft detected these molecules in ice particles between...

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Scientists finally found the “dark matter” of electronics

Scientists directly observed "dark excitons" in ultra-thin materials, which last nanoseconds versus picoseconds for regular excitons. These particles resist environmental interference better, potentially enabling more stable...

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NASA’s Webb Telescope finds phosphine on distant star, challenges ‘life signal’ status

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope found phosphine on brown dwarf Wolf 1130C, proving this potential biosignature can form naturally without life in extreme environments.

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Faces of hundreds of years old Colombian mummies reconstructed using new method

Liverpool John Moores University's Face Lab digitally reconstructed four 13th-17th century Colombian mummies' faces preserved under resin and clay masks. The work reveals sophisticated pre-Hispanic Eastern Colombian craftsmanship...

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Is Dark Energy Born inside Black Holes?

Recent data from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument suggests that dark energy may not be constant as previously thought, prompting physicists to propose that black holes could be converting matter into dark energy within...

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Chinese scientists achieve first manned polar deep dive, robotic coordination

Chinese scientists completed their first manned Arctic deep dive using the upgraded Jiaolong submersible, coordinating with a remotely operated vehicle to collect 183 biological samples. This breakthrough expedition demonstrates...

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Powering next-gen solar panels: Breakthrough tech hits 30% efficiency, cooler temperature

UNSW researchers developed solar panels using DPND molecules that split high-energy photons, boosting efficiency from 20-25% to over 30% while reducing operating temperatures and extending lifespan.

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New tiny gold mirror could make solar panels lighter, cheaper, and stronger

Researchers developed a tiny gold mirror that dramatically improves ultrathin solar cells by trapping more light and reducing energy losses through a simple stamping technique. This breakthrough makes solar panels 1.5% more...

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The Milky Way has a Colossal Wave Rippling Through It, Astronomers Say

The European Space Agency's Gaia space telescope has revealed a massive wave of motion rippling through nearly half of the Milky Way galaxy, causing over 20,000 young stars to move in synchronized patterns that span 30 to 65...

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The Divers Who Stretch the Limits of Human Biology

Chris Lemons watched himself die for 40 minutes, captured on grainy black-and-white video at the bottom of the North Sea. The English saturation diver lay motionless 300 feet underwater, his limbs twitching then going still,...

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Cosmic mystery deepens as astronomers uncover most distant, powerful odd radio circle yet

Astronomers using citizen scientists and the world's largest low-frequency radio telescope have discovered the most distant and powerful "odd radio circle" (ORC) ever found, located when the universe was only half its current...

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Hydrogen fuel production gets cheaper with new filter stable at 1,000 Kelvin heat

MIT engineers created a palladium filter that survives temperatures up to 1,000 Kelvin by filling pores instead of forming films. This breakthrough enables cheaper hydrogen production in high-temperature industrial processes.

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Airbus bets on 3D-printed heat exchanger to cool future hydrogen-electric jets

Airbus's ZEROe hydrogen-electric aircraft program, using specialized 3D-printed heat exchangers for fuel cell cooling, has been delayed from 2035 to the 2040s due to technological and infrastructure challenges.

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Light trick: How color photos outshone quantum theory to win 1908 Nobel Prize

Gabriel Lippmann won the 1908 Nobel Prize in Physics for his color photography technique using optical interference. French lobbying and committee hesitation about theoretical work helped him defeat Max Planck's quantum theory.

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German students build mobile energy trailer using solar, battery and hydrogen

German engineering students at Dortmund University created a mobile energy trailer that combines solar panels, battery storage, and hydrogen fuel cells to provide off-grid electricity for festivals, crisis zones, and research...

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World’s most sensitive dark matter detector achieves billionfold drop in radon

Scientists operating the world's most sensitive dark matter detector at Italy's Gran Sasso Laboratory achieved a major breakthrough by reducing interfering radon radiation to levels a billion times lower than natural human body...

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Saturn’s icy moon may host life: Study finds potential signs in Enceladus’ plumes

German researchers analyzing fresh ice grains from NASA's Cassini spacecraft discovered complex organic molecules in Saturn's moon Enceladus' geysers, including compounds essential for life that had never been detected before....

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MIT cracks code of lithium-ion chemistry for faster, more powerful EV batteries

MIT researchers found that lithium-ion battery performance depends on simultaneous electron and ion transfer, not just ion diffusion as previously thought. This discovery could enable faster-charging EV batteries and...

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6 billion tons a second: Scientists observe fastest-growing planet ever recorded

Scientists discovered rogue planet Cha 1107-7626 growing at six billion tons per second by absorbing interstellar gas and dust. This Jupiter-sized world's rapid growth suggests some rogue planets form in space rather than being...

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New concrete battery delivers 10x energy boost, turns buildings into giant power banks

MIT scientists developed a concrete battery called ec3 that can store 10 times more energy than previous versions, requiring only 5 cubic meters to power a home daily instead of 45 cubic meters. This breakthrough transforms...

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