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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• May 6, 2026

2.5 GW ‘gas-plus-nuclear’ plant in Texas aims to fast-track power for AI demand

Blue Energy and GE Vernova are building a 2.5 gigawatt hybrid power plant in Texas that pairs natural gas turbines with small modular nuclear reactors to deliver electricity faster than traditional nuclear projects. Gas turbines will supply about 1 gigawatt as early as 2030, with nuclear capacity following by 2032. The plant will initially power a nearby data center, addressing surging AI-driven electricity demand.

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A 1,500-foot tsunami took scientists by surprise. Now we know why it happened

A massive landslide in Alaska's Tracy Arm fjord on August 10, 2025, triggered a 1,500-foot tsunami after glacial retreat destabilized the fjord wall. Scientists discovered subtle seismic signals appeared 24 hours before the...

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The brain processes overheard words under anesthesia, but it may not remember them

Even while fully unconscious under anesthesia, the brain's hippocampus keeps actively processing speech — recognizing words, categorizing their meaning, and even predicting what comes next. Despite this hidden activity, patients...

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Untangling Entanglement: Does Science Support Physicalism?

Quantum mechanics is often used to support physicalism — the idea that everything reduces to physical processes — but this assumption doesn't hold up under scrutiny. Phenomena like entanglement and wavefunction collapse resist...

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New 3D-printed battery electrodes double storage capacity across 7,500 charge cycles

LLNL researchers used 3D printing to create ultra-thick battery electrodes with an interlocking "finger" design that eliminates dead zones where ions get trapped. This doubles storage capacity while maintaining fast charging...

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Engineers develop new magnetic system for wirelessly charging electric ships at sea

Norwegian researchers have developed a wireless magnetic charging system for electric ships, allowing them to recharge at sea instead of making costly trips back to port. Using encapsulated coils that resist saltwater and...

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Quantum computers simulate 12,000-atom proteins using 94 qubits in milestone

Researchers from Cleveland Clinic, RIKEN, and IBM simulated proteins with over 12,000 atoms using just 94 qubits — a 40-fold jump from earlier work. By combining quantum processors with classical supercomputers, the hybrid...

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First-ever 'quadsqueezing' quantum interaction

Oxford researchers achieved a physics first by generating "quadsqueezing," a powerful fourth-order quantum interaction, using a single trapped ion. By combining two controlled forces that amplify each other through...

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An Asteroid’s Old Orbit Opens a Quicker Route to Mars

Asteroid 2001 CA21's orbit, nearly aligned with Earth's, enables an unusually efficient Mars route. A 2031 mission exploiting this geometry could complete a round trip in just 153 days, versus the typical two years.

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Bioluminescent algae’s blue light harnessed to make 3D-printed shapes

Scientists at the University of Colorado Boulder used acid to trigger sustained glowing in Pyrocystis lunula algae, then mixed them into a gel to 3D-print glowing shapes lasting up to 25 minutes. This living bioluminescent...

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What Causes Lightning? The Answer Keeps Getting More Interesting.

Scientists still don't fully understand what causes lightning, even though it's one of nature's most common phenomena. Researcher Joseph Dwyer, who once studied solar flares from space, shifted his focus to lightning and...

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Water-splitting catalyst unlocks cheaper hydrogen at significantly lower temperatures

Scientists at the University of Birmingham developed a perovskite catalyst that splits water into hydrogen at 150–500°C — around 500°C lower than current methods — cutting costs and potentially using industrial waste heat.

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This startup just raised $140 million to build wave-powered AI data centers at sea

Wave-powered data centers floating in the open ocean sounds like science fiction. But a startup called Panthalassa just raised $140 million to make it real. The company builds steel towers that bob in deep water, converting...

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How do you design a $30,000 electric pickup? Inside Ford's skunkworks.

Ford's Electric Vehicle Development Center (EVDC) in Long Beach is a small, fast-moving team of about 350 people designing an affordable $30,000 electric pickup truck. Operating like an aerospace skunkworks, the team keeps...

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'I was not looking for this': Scientist accidentally finds shortcut to Mars that could slash travel time in half

A Brazilian scientist accidentally discovered a potential shortcut to Mars while studying asteroid trajectories, finding geometric clues that could cut round-trip travel from three years to just five months. A 2031 Mars...

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Biologist Joey Davis explores how cells build complex structures

MIT biologist Joey Davis studies ribosome assembly, finding the process is flexible rather than sequential. His lab uses cryo-EM and AI to generate large-scale datasets that improve protein structure prediction models.

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Scientists just created exotic new forms of matter that shouldn’t exist

Researchers at Cal Poly have created exotic new forms of quantum matter by carefully controlling magnetic fields over time, producing quantum states that cannot exist in materials left undisturbed. Published in Physical Review B,...

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Ancient glassmaking method unlocks easier shaping of futuristic gas-trapping glass

Adding small amounts of sodium or lithium compounds lowers the softening temperature of MOF glasses, improving manufacturability. This discovery could accelerate real-world applications in carbon capture, hydrogen storage, and...

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Babies may ‘catch’ yawns from their mother in the womb, new study finds

Fetuses may "catch" yawns from their mothers while still in the womb, according to a new study published in Current Biology. Researchers studied 38 pregnant women and found that when mothers yawned, their babies tended to yawn...

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Stanford’s new chip boosts light 100x with surprisingly low energy

Researchers built a fingertip-sized optical amplifier that boosts light signals 100× using just milliwatts of power. A circular resonator recycles pump light, keeping the chip compact for use in smartphones, data communications,...

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Scientists connect “time crystal” to real device in quantum breakthrough

Scientists at Aalto University have connected a time crystal — a quantum system that moves in repeating patterns without needing external energy — to an outside device for the first time. By cooling helium-3 to near absolute zero...

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Why some mathematicians think we should abandon pi

Some mathematicians argue that pi (3.14159...) should be replaced by tau, a value exactly twice as large, because tau more naturally fits how circles and angles work in math. Physicist Michael Hartl's "Tau Manifesto" made the...

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Breakthrough biomaterial heals tissue from the inside out

A new injectable biomaterial developed at UC San Diego can travel through the bloodstream to find and heal damaged tissue from the inside out. Tested in rodents and pigs after heart attacks, it reduced inflammation, improved...

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Human heart regrows muscle cells after attack, world-first study confirms

A world-first study from the University of Sydney confirms that human hearts grow new muscle cells after a heart attack, overturning the long-held belief that heart damage is permanent. While the regeneration is limited,...

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