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A coin flip that could theoretically make you a billionaire sounds irresistible. But should you play? The Saint Petersburg Paradox, dreamed up by mathematicians in 1713, describes a coin toss game where winnings double with every flip. The math suggests the expected value is infinite, meaning no stake is too high. You should always play. Except, of course, that's absurd. The catch is that the game only...
Inspired by a photo of the Space Shuttle Endeavour at sunset, a developer built a real-time atmospheric scattering shader that renders realistic skies, sunsets, and planetary atmospheres in the browser. Using raymarching combined...
Unitree has unveiled the GD01, a rideable mech robot that switches between two-legged and four-legged movement modes. Weighing 1,102 pounds with a pilot aboard, it can walk upright, smash through brick walls, and transform into a...
NASA's Perseverance rover snapped a new self-portrait on March 11, 2026 — its 1,797th Martian day — from the farthest west it has ever traveled. The image, stitched from 61 exposures, shows the rover near a rock called Arethusa,...
Rice seeds can "hear" heavy rain — MIT researchers discovered that sound vibrations cause starch-filled structures called statoliths to resonate, boosting germination rates by over 30%, suggesting plants possess previously...
Brandon Patterson, paralyzed since 2017, received a groundbreaking brain-computer interface implant targeting higher-order brain regions — not just basic motor areas — allowing doctors to interpret intent rather than simple...
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A modified Robinson R44 helicopter completed the world's first piloted hydrogen-electric flight in Québec on April 10, 2026, using fuel cells and green hydrogen—part of a plan to develop zero-emission organ-transport aircraft.
NASA and Microchip Technology have developed a radiation-hardened space processor that performs nearly 500 times better than current space chips. It can survive deep-space radiation and extreme conditions while enabling onboard...
Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have collected rare measurements of how uranium-bearing molten salts transfer heat and flow, filling critical data gaps that have slowed nuclear reactor development for years. Using two...
Tsinghua University researchers developed a lithium-sulfur battery that nearly doubles drone flight time, achieving 549 Wh/kg and retaining 82% capacity after 800 cycles—far surpassing lithium-ion batteries—using a molecular...
China's Yangtze River has been "pirating" ~5 billion cubic meters annually from the Yellow River for 1.7 million years via river capture—exceeding China's planned water diversion back to the Yellow River.
Uterus transplantation is giving women born without a functioning womb a real chance at pregnancy. At Baylor's world-leading center, 44 women received transplants since 2016, with 27 successfully giving birth. Doctors now want...
Researchers at the University of Hong Kong developed SS-H2, a stainless steel alloy that resists harsh electrolyzer conditions by forming a protective manganese layer, potentially cutting structural material costs by 40 times.
Using NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers created the most detailed map of the universe's cosmic web, tracing galaxy networks back 13.7 billion years. Webb revealed structures Hubble couldn't distinguish, identifying...
The UK's largest vanadium flow battery in Europe has been completed in East Sussex, built by Invinity Energy Systems. The 20.7-megawatt-hour Copwood Energy Hub pairs 90 vanadium flow batteries with a solar array to store daytime...
Penn State researchers scaled up a CO2-to-methane reactor 10x while maintaining 95%+ efficiency. The methane integrates directly into existing gas pipelines, enabling practical long-term renewable energy storage.
Astronomers found tentative evidence that the universe may not be perfectly uniform, potentially challenging a nearly 100-year-old cosmological model. Using supernova data and galaxy surveys, researchers detected small but...
Two humanoid robots nodding to each other as they make a bed might sound like science fiction, but that's exactly what US robotics firm Figure just demonstrated. In a video released this week, two of the company's humanoids...
A UV-responsive crystal material developed at the University of Iowa captures atmospheric moisture by reshaping internally to trap water, currently storing 5% of its weight, with potential future applications for clean water...
Joanna Stern, a co-founder of The Verge and former Wall Street Journal tech columnist, left her high-profile job to launch her own media company, New Things, alongside a new book called I Am Not a Robot. After spending a full...
MIT's CSAIL team revived a 1985 patent by Polaroid engineer Bill Freeman to create the Y-zipper — a three-sided fastener that transforms flexible plastic strips into a rigid triangular beam instantly. Applications include...
Using the James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers have created a far more detailed map of the cosmic web — the vast network of galaxies, gas, and dark matter connecting the universe. This improved map will help scientists better...
Scientists at ETH Zurich have developed a more stable quantum computing operation using a "geometric phase" technique, where two potassium atoms interact based on the path they travel rather than precise laser timing or strength....
Europe is making a major push to lead the quantum computing race, backed by billions in public and private investment. The EU's €1 billion Quantum Flagship program, combined with national strategies from France, Germany, and the...