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Latest story• Feb 11, 2026

Scientists just made living blood vessels on a chip that act like real ones

Texas A&M University researchers have developed an advanced "vessel-chip" system that recreates the complex shapes of real human blood vessels, including branches, aneurysms, and narrowed areas, rather than simple straight tubes used in previous lab models. These microfluidic devices contain living endothelial cells and allow scientists to study how different vessel shapes affect blood flow patterns and disease...

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What does it take to eat like an Olympian?

Winter Olympians burn up to 7,000 calories daily and need 6-12 grams of carbohydrates per kilogram of body weight. The main challenge is consuming enough calories, carbohydrates, protein, and micronutrients like vitamin D and...

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Why self-healing materials could revolutionize modern engineering

Scientists are creating self-healing materials inspired by biological systems that can automatically repair damage without human help. These materials could extend infrastructure lifespan while reducing maintenance costs and...

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Borehole nuclear: US firm’s mile-deep underground reactor gets funding boost

Deep Fission raised $80 million to develop revolutionary underground nuclear reactors installed one mile beneath Earth's surface, using natural geology to eliminate expensive pressure vessels and reduce construction costs by 80...

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Quantum simulations show vibrating atoms can appear active without moving at all

German scientists used quantum simulations to reveal that tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TERS), which images atomic vibrations at the angstrom scale, can be misleading because metal surfaces distort the signals. Their research...

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A precise proton measurement helps put a core theory of physics to the test

Scientists precisely measured the proton's radius at 0.84 trillionths of a millimeter, resolving decade-long confusion about its size. This breakthrough enabled an extremely accurate test of particle physics models.

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Astronomers shocked by how these giant exoplanets formed

Using the James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers found sulfur compounds in HR 8799's massive gas giants, proving they formed like Jupiter through core accretion despite being much larger and farther from their star.

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Physicists Make Electrons Flow Like Water

Physicists have achieved a breakthrough by making electrons behave like flowing water in certain materials, moving together as a coherent fluid rather than individually. This discovery challenges the traditional understanding of...

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Yes, Rocket Lab is blowing up engines. No, it's not a big deal, CEO says.

Rocket Lab's Archimedes engines have experienced at least two catastrophic test failures in recent months, including one explosion that blew off a test facility roof and caused significant infrastructure damage at NASA's Stennis...

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Ex-SpaceX engineer plans to fly satellite using water-powered propulsion system

Two engineers in their twenties are betting that ordinary water could revolutionize space travel. This October, their startup General Galactic plans to launch a 1,100-pound satellite that runs entirely on water for propulsion,...

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How a Worried Mom Created One of the Most Versatile Inventions

During WWII, munitions worker Vesta Stoudt noticed paper tape on ammunition boxes tore easily. After her bosses ignored her waterproof cloth tape idea, she wrote President Roosevelt, leading to duct tape's invention.

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A simple discovery is shaking the foundations of spintronics

Researchers found that unusual magnetoresistance in spintronic devices comes from electron scattering at interfaces, not spin currents as previously thought. This simpler model could revolutionize spintronics understanding.

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Magnetic mixer improves 3D bioprinting

MIT researchers developed MagMix, a magnetic mixing device that solves a major problem in 3D bioprinting where cells sink to the bottom of bio-ink during long printing sessions, causing clogs and uneven tissue quality. The...

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What came before the big bang?

While the big bang marked the beginning of space and time, physicists are developing testable theories about what might have preceded it. Three leading proposals include Hawking and Hartle's "no-boundary" model where the universe...

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How a new terahertz antenna could unlock one-terabit 6G speeds

Researchers from Singapore, France, and the United States have developed a revolutionary silicon-based terahertz antenna that could enable 6G wireless speeds of one terabit per second by using principles from topological...

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New research reveals humans could have as many as 33 senses

Scientists now believe humans have 22-33 senses, not just five, including proprioception (limb position) and interoception (internal body awareness). These senses work together to create unified experiences like flavor perception.

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Rolls-Royce launches hydrogen-ready modular power plants to back up wind and solar

Rolls-Royce launched hydrogen-ready modular gas engine power plants that can deploy within 12-18 months to support Germany's renewable energy transition. These flexible systems generate 5 to several hundred megawatts and bridge...

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Something supercharged Uranus with radiation during Voyager flyby 40 years ago. Scientists now know what.

When Voyager 2 flew past Uranus in 1986, scientists discovered the planet's electron radiation belt was mysteriously intense—much stronger than predicted. Researchers now believe a "co-rotating interaction region," where fast...

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AI reads brain MRIs in seconds and flags emergencies

University of Michigan researchers created Prima, an AI system that analyzes brain MRI scans in seconds with 97.5% accuracy and automatically flags urgent cases like strokes.

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New solar-powered device extracts lithium for batteries while desalinating seawater

Chinese researchers have developed a solar-powered "seesaw" device that extracts lithium from seawater while producing drinking water, addressing the growing demand for lithium batteries and the environmental problems of...

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Small nuclear reactors could replace fossil plants after key supply win

Terra Innovatum Global secured its complete supply chain for critical nuclear components of its SOLO micro-modular reactor, marking a major milestone toward 2028 deployment. These compact 1 MWe reactors use off-the-shelf parts...

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Scientists may have discovered a pulsar at the Milky Way’s heart—a result that could reveal new physics

Scientists have potentially discovered a pulsar called BLPSR spinning every 8.19 milliseconds near the Milky Way's central supermassive black hole, Sagittarius A*. This lighthouse-like neutron star could enable precise...

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Physicists discover what controls the speed of quantum time

EPFL physicists have developed a breakthrough method to measure quantum time without external clocks by analyzing the spin of electrons emitted when materials absorb light. Using quantum interference patterns, they discovered...

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Earth’s core may hide dozens of oceans of hydrogen

New experiments reveal Earth's core may contain hydrogen equivalent to 9-45 oceans worth of water, trapped during the planet's formation when iron blobs solidified in ancient magma oceans. This hydrogen doesn't exist as liquid...

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