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• Dec 15, 2025

RNA May Be Common throughout the Cosmos, New Study Suggests

Scientists have demonstrated how RNA, a key molecule in all Earth life, could have naturally formed 4.3 billion years ago through asteroid impacts and chemical reactions involving borate compounds. Laboratory experiments showed that heating and drying mixtures of early Earth materials, including ribose sugar and borate minerals, produced RNA-like molecules that could become proper RNA with minimal additional...

Read summary Original source

Latest stories

How to levitate objects sans magic

Scientists can levitate objects using sound waves, magnets, and electricity, though each method has significant limitations compared to fictional magic. Sound waves can only lift tiny items like Styrofoam beads, while levitating...

Read summary Original

The Year in Biology

Quanta's biology review examines memory's complex nature, showing how this fundamental concept varies across scientific disciplines and plays diverse roles in personal recollection and biological processes.

Read summary Original

A Physics Renaissance Is Coming

Physics is undergoing a major shift away from traditional reductionism toward studying complex systems like living organisms, which challenge fundamental assumptions about how the universe works. This emerging field recognizes...

Read summary Original

Hidden dimensions could explain where mass comes from

New theoretical work suggests that mass and fundamental forces may emerge directly from the geometry of hidden seven-dimensional spaces rather than from separate fields like the Higgs mechanism. When these extra dimensions...

Read summary Original

30 models of the universe proved wrong by final data from groundbreaking cosmology telescope

The Atacama Cosmology Telescope completed its 15-year mission studying cosmic microwave background radiation from the early universe, releasing final data that confirmed the mysterious Hubble tension where universe expansion...

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

What makes a good proton conductor?

MIT researchers developed a model to predict proton mobility in metal oxides, identifying that oxygen ion flexibility and hydrogen bond length are the most critical factors for efficient proton conduction. Their findings could...

Read summary Original

Why consciousness exists at all

Consciousness evolved in three stages to help organisms survive, starting with basic arousal that triggers alarm responses to threats like pain, followed by general alertness that allows focused attention and learning. Recent...

Read summary Original

Dark matter ‘nuggets’ could explain the Milky Way’s mysterious glow

Scientists propose that mysterious ultraviolet light detected across the Milky Way could originate from dark matter "nuggets" made of axion particles colliding with ordinary matter. These theoretical axion quark nuggets are...

Read summary Original

Webb finds a hidden atmosphere on a molten super-Earth

A blazing hot planet orbiting its star in less than 11 hours has stunned astronomers by somehow keeping a thick atmosphere despite being blasted by radiation that should have stripped it bare billions of years ago. Using the...

Read summary Original

Scientists Reveal Robot Small Enough to Travel Through Human Body

Scientists have created the first sub-millimeter robot smaller than a grain of salt that can sense, think, and act independently, potentially revolutionizing medical treatment by traveling through human bodies to repair tissues...

Read summary Original

Making Claude a better electrical engineer

Anthropic partnered with Diode Computers to enhance Claude's circuit board design generation from technical docs. Engineers preferred Claude Sonnet 4.5's designs over previous models 8 out of 10 times in blind tests.

Read summary Original

From sci-fi to reality: Researchers realise quantum teleportation using tech

German scientists achieved quantum teleportation between two independent light-emitting devices using quantum entanglement, converting light to wavelengths compatible with standard internet fiber optic cables. The researchers...

Read summary Original

The brain switch that could rewrite how we treat mental illness

Dr. Eric Nestler's four-decade research career has revolutionized psychiatric science by discovering how molecular changes in the brain explain lasting effects of drugs and stress on behavior. His breakthrough discovery of the...

Read summary Original

Scientists find hidden rainfall pattern that could reshape farming

UC San Diego researchers discovered that the source of rainfall—whether from oceans or land—dramatically affects crop vulnerability to drought, with farmlands receiving more than one-third of their precipitation from land sources...

Read summary Original

A grad student’s wild idea triggers a major aging breakthrough

Mayo Clinic researchers developed synthetic DNA structures called aptamers that identify and target "zombie cells" linked to aging and diseases like cancer and Alzheimer's. Mouse experiments successfully selected aptamers that...

Read summary Original

Machine learning just helped researchers create the biggest 3D map of buildings around the world

Researchers at Germany's Technical University of Munich used machine learning algorithms to analyze 800,000 satellite images and create GlobalBuildingAtlas, mapping 2.75 billion buildings across 97 percent of Earth's surface in...

Read summary Original

Scientists Discovered A Connection Between Tinnitus And Sleep

Scientists found that tinnitus symptoms are closely linked to disrupted sleep cycles. This discovery suggests that treating sleep disorders could help reduce the persistent ringing that affects millions worldwide.

Read summary Original

Man shocks doctors with extreme blood pressure, stroke from energy drinks

A healthy 50-year-old man suffered a stroke from dangerously high blood pressure (254/150) after consuming excessive energy drinks. Brain scans revealed artery spasms that blocked blood flow to his thalamus.

Read summary Original

Comet 3I/ATLAS is getting greener and brighter as it approaches Earth, new images reveal

Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS has dramatically brightened and turned green as it approaches Earth, with new telescope images showing intense activity following its close solar encounter in October. The green glow comes from carbon...

Read summary Original

Giant structure discovered deep beneath Bermuda is unlike anything else on Earth

Scientists have discovered an unprecedented 12.4-mile-thick rock layer beneath Bermuda's oceanic crust, unlike anything found elsewhere on Earth. This dense layer may explain why Bermuda sits on an elevated oceanic swell despite...

Read summary Original

Mosquitos use it to suck blood. Researchers used it to 3-D print

Researchers developed "3-D necroprinting" using mosquito proboscis as nozzles, achieving 20-micrometer print lines—half the width of human hair and superior to commercial tips.

Read summary Original

How Do Astronomers Find Planets in Other Solar Systems?

Since 1992, astronomers have discovered over 6,000 exoplanets orbiting distant stars using two main detection methods. The radial velocity method detects tiny wobbles in stars caused by orbiting planets through Doppler shifts in...

Read summary Original

A clear new material could make windows super efficient

University of Colorado Boulder physicists have created MOCHI, a transparent silicone-based gel that could revolutionize window insulation by dramatically reducing building energy waste. The material uses microscopic air-filled...

Read summary Original

Back to all archives Load more stories