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Latest story• Feb 8, 2026

New critique debunks claim that trees can sense a solar eclipse

Scientists challenged a controversial 2025 study claiming trees could sense solar eclipses through electrical signals, arguing that weather factors like lightning strikes provide simpler explanations for the recorded electrical changes in plants. The original researchers defended their work, stating they measured temperature, humidity, and solar radiation but found no strong correlations with the electrical patterns...

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New catalyst solves decades-old stability issue to unlock 85% hydrogen fuel efficiency

Washington University researchers developed a method to stabilize iron catalysts for hydrogen fuel cells, potentially replacing expensive platinum and dramatically reducing fuel-cell vehicle costs while achieving 85% energy...

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Physicists push quantum boundaries by turning a superfluid into a supersolid — and back — for the first time

Scientists created a supersolid state from excitons in graphene cooled near absolute zero, then reversed the process. This breakthrough shows particles maintaining superfluid properties while forming crystal structures.

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Chang’e-6 lunar samples reveal a giant impact reshaped the Moon’s interior

Chang'e-6 lunar samples from the Moon's largest impact crater, the South Pole-Aitken Basin, contain unusually heavy potassium isotopes that reveal how the ancient collision fundamentally reshaped the Moon's deep interior. The...

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Astronomers move closer to pinpointing where giant black holes merge

Scientists have developed a new method to pinpoint locations of supermassive black hole pairs slowly merging across the universe by combining gravitational wave detection with observations of bright galactic centers. Researchers...

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Long-Sought Proof Tames Some of Math’s Unruliest Equations

Mathematicians have proven new guarantees for complex partial differential equations that describe changing phenomena like storms and disease spread. This breakthrough enables more reliable predictions of real-world systems that...

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Dark matter could be masquerading as a black hole at the Milky Way’s core

Astronomers propose that the Milky Way's center may contain a massive concentration of fermionic dark matter rather than the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A*, offering a unified explanation for both the chaotic orbits of...

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The science behind why some auroras have such stunning wave patterns

Scientists discovered that aurora arcs, the stunning wave-like patterns of northern and southern lights, are powered by "Alfvén waves" that act like space batteries along Earth's magnetic field lines. These plasma waves...

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‘Impossible’ material: Researchers create glass-plastic hybrid that defies physics theory

Researchers at Wageningen University have created a revolutionary "compleximer" material that combines plastic's impact resistance with glass's moldability, defying the long-held physics principle that easily processed materials...

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Chinese scientists create biodegradable, self-powered implant to fast-track muscle repair

Chinese scientists created a biodegradable implant that uses body movement to power electrical stimulation for muscle repair. In rat trials, it achieved complete recovery in two weeks and safely dissolves in four weeks.

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Babies brains’ can follow a beat as soon as they’re born

Babies apparently come equipped with neuroscientist-worthy abilities that would make adults jealous. Two remarkable studies reveal that 2-month-old infants can already organize visual information into categories like animals and...

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Can robots ever be graceful?

British YouTuber James Bruton's quest to build a rideable Star Wars robot highlights a major challenge in robotics: current actuators that control robot movement are clunky and inefficient compared to animal muscles. Traditional...

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SpaceX Is Using Starlink To Make Low Earth Orbit Safer For Everyone

SpaceX is leveraging its Starlink satellite constellation to address the growing problem of space debris in Low Earth Orbit, which has posed significant safety risks to space operations for years. The company believes it has...

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A satellite language network in the brain

MIT researchers discovered four language-processing regions in the cerebellum, traditionally known for coordinating movement, extending the brain's language network beyond the neocortex. One cerebellar area acts as a "satellite"...

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AI tracks icebergs from birth to breakup to expose hidden climate effects

British Antarctic Survey researchers developed an AI system that tracks icebergs from formation to melting using satellite imagery, creating detailed "family trees" of ice movement for improved climate modeling.

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Project Hail Mary is getting its own LEGO set

LEGO is releasing an 830-piece Project Hail Mary set based on the upcoming science fiction film starring Ryan Gosling. The $100 set features The Hail Mary spaceship with minifigures of astronaut Ryland Grace and his alien...

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Dream Engineering Could Help You Solve Problems While You Sleep

Northwestern University neuroscientists successfully used auditory cues to manipulate participants' dreams, prompting them to dream about unsolved puzzles they had previously associated with specific sounds while awake....

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Where did Luna 9 land on the moon?

Luna 9, humanity's first successful lunar lander from 60 years ago, remains missing despite advanced orbital mapping technology. The Soviet spacecraft is too small for current cameras to detect among lunar debris, even though...

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The largest life-form on land 400M years ago scientists can't explain

Scientists studying 400-million-year-old fossils called Prototaxites, which towered 30 feet tall over ancient landscapes, now believe these mysterious organisms represent an entirely unknown form of multicellular life rather than...

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Pacific Fusion finds a cheaper way to make its fusion reactor work

Pacific Fusion successfully tested a cheaper fusion reactor design that eliminates the need for costly laser systems by allowing magnetic fields to leak through modified fuel pellet casings to create necessary pre-heating...

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A sunspot 15 times larger than Earth is currently visible on the surface of the Sun

A massive sunspot 15 times larger than Earth is pointing toward us and has already produced 20 powerful solar flares since January 30, potentially creating more widespread auroras.

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Martian meteorite that fell to Earth is full of ancient water, new scans reveal

Scientists used a new neutron scanning technique to discover that the famous Martian meteorite "Black Beauty" contains significantly more ancient water than previously thought, with water making up about 0.6% of its mass. The...

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New zinc–air battery offers power density of 310 mW, stable performance for 1,100 hours

Chinese researchers created zinc-air batteries with a light-activated catalyst that achieved 310 mW power density and ran stably for 1,100+ hours. The flexible batteries maintain performance when bent, making them ideal for...

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This black hole "burps" with Death Star energy

A black hole nicknamed "Jetty" initially showed no signs of material outflow after being discovered, causing astronomers to lose interest like 80 percent of similar events. Years later, the Very Large Array telescope detected the...

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