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Latest story• Mar 8, 2026

Enormous 3D map of the universe shows brilliant 'sea of light' near the cosmic dawn

Astronomers created an exceptionally detailed 3D map of the early universe by tracking light emitted from hydrogen atoms when excited by nearby stars, revealing a brilliant "sea of light" that filled the ancient cosmos. Using line-intensity mapping with the Hobby-Eberly Telescope in Texas, researchers captured combined light from entire sky regions rather than individual galaxies, detecting previously hidden faint...

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Why is mercury a liquid?

Mercury stands out as the only metal that remains liquid at room temperature, with a melting point of minus 37.9 degrees Fahrenheit. While mercury's filled electron subshells make it reluctant to share electrons for bonding, the...

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High-temperature superconducting dome ‘breakthrough’ mapped in nickelate crystals

Scientists created ultrathin nickel-based films and found a superconducting dome pattern similar to high-temperature copper superconductors. This discovery provides crucial insights for developing new superconducting materials.

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Scientists tracked faint signals from the stars — and may have turned up hundreds of undiscovered planets

Scientists have developed a technique to find planets by tracking faint signals in starlight from magnetically inactive stars, which may indicate debris from close-orbiting planets absorbing specific light frequencies. Using this...

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Why ‘quantum proteins’ could be the next big thing in biology

Researchers have discovered that common fluorescent proteins used in biology labs can be transformed into quantum sensors by harnessing their triplet electron states, previously considered an unwanted side effect. Teams at the...

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NASA's DART spacecraft changed a binary asteroid's orbit around the sun, in a first for a human-made object

NASA's DART spacecraft successfully crashed into asteroid moonlet Dimorphos in 2022, not only shortening its 33-minute orbit around parent asteroid Didymos but also shifting the entire binary system's path around the sun by 1.7...

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Some Memories Live in the Brain Even If We Can’t Recall Them

Scientists found forgotten memories remain hidden in the brain, not lost. Successful recall requires rhythmic alpha brain waves to help memories overcome neural noise, potentially improving dementia treatments.

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Physicists finally see strange magnetic vortices predicted 50 years ago

Physicists confirmed the 1970s six-state clock model by observing paired magnetic vortices in ultrathin materials at extremely low temperatures. These nanoscale structures could enable compact electronic devices with precise...

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Antarctica has a strange gravity hole and scientists finally know why

Scientists discovered that Antarctica's unusual gravity hole formed from extremely slow rock movements deep inside Earth over 70 million years, with the anomaly strengthening between 50-30 million years ago during the same period...

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Robots with fingernails can grasp thin edges

Researchers created a three-fingered robotic hand with rigid fingernails on soft fingertips that significantly improved grip strength and precision for tasks like peeling fruit and picking up objects.

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Physicists Uncover How Long It Takes to Get the Last Drop of Syrup

Brown University physicists used 19th-century equations to find drainage times for tilted kitchen liquids. Water drains in seconds, olive oil takes nine minutes, and cold maple syrup needs hours.

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Asteroids with small moons can exchange rocks and dust in slow, gentle collisions

NASA's DART spacecraft captured the first direct evidence of asteroids and their moons exchanging rocks and dust through gentle collisions, revealing fan-shaped streaks on Dimorphos' surface caused by material drifting at just...

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Scientists created a digital library full of ants

A particle accelerator typically used for physics research has become an unlikely tool for cataloging the natural world, creating detailed 3D scans of more than 2,000 ants in mere seconds each. The Antscan project harnessed...

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Can you tie a knot in four dimensions? A mathematician explains

Four-dimensional space contains an additional independent direction beyond our familiar three dimensions. While humans cannot visualize four dimensions, mathematicians use analogies to understand them, such as drawing...

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Chickpeas grown in lunar soil simulant for first time could become food source on moon

Scientists at University of Texas and Texas A&M have successfully grown chickpeas in simulated lunar soil for the first time, potentially solving food sustainability challenges for future moon missions. The researchers mixed...

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3D-printed ‘beating heart’ offers new frontier in simulations

Researchers created a 3D-printed heart model with soft robotics and McKibben actuators that mimics realistic cardiac movements. This innovation provides surgeons with patient-specific training platforms while addressing ethical...

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Congress puts the ISS on life support until 2032, orders Moon base plan

Congress extended the International Space Station's operation until 2032 and ordered NASA to build a Moon base while seeking commercial space station proposals to replace the ISS.

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Scientists develop nanomaterial that targets cancer cells while sparing healthy tissue

Oregon State University researchers created an iron-based nanomaterial that successfully eliminated breast cancer tumors in mice by generating two types of toxic oxygen compounds simultaneously, overcoming limitations of existing...

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TerraPower gets permission to build, not operate, sodium-cooled nuclear reactor

TerraPower received approval to build its advanced Natrium reactor in Wyoming, the first commercial permit in a decade. Construction begins soon, but the required HALEU fuel won't be available until 2030.

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Scientists taught robots to swim through mazes using Einstein's relativity

University of Pennsylvania researchers created microscopic swimming robots that navigate through mazes using light patterns based on Einstein's theory of relativity, where dark spots attract the bots like gravity while bright...

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NASA refines asteroid 2024 YR4 orbit, rules out collision with Moon in 2032

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope confirmed asteroid 2024 YR4 will safely pass the Moon at 13,200 miles in 2032, not collide as initially predicted with 4.3% probability.

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11 women shaping the future of robotics

The International Federation of Robotics named 11 women who are shaping robotics' future, aiming to boost visibility in a field where women represent only 16% of engineers despite being over 40% of the workforce. The honorees...

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How Three Students Designed an Atomic Bomb

In 1964, the Pentagon launched the secret "Nth Country Experiment" to determine if developing nations could design nuclear weapons using only public information. Three postdoc physicists with no nuclear weapons knowledge...

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Meet the Quadruple Star System That Defies Space Expectations

Astronomers discovered TIC 120362137, the most compact quadruple star system ever found, with four stars orbiting within the distance between our sun and Jupiter. NASA's TESS satellite detected this extraordinary cosmic dance...

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