Science

In 1801, British scientist Thomas Young carried out a ‘double slit’ experiment that has gone down in physics history: By shining light through two slits in a material, he showed that light behaved like a wave, taking different paths simultaneously only to intefere in predictable ways once they recombine. Since that pioneering moment, the experiment

If you’ve ever had the eerie sensation there’s a presence in the room when you were sure you were alone, you may be reluctant to admit it. Perhaps it was a profound experience that you are happy to share with others. Or – more likely – it was something in between the two. Unless you

The James Webb Space Telescope has discovered the four most distant galaxies ever observed, one of which formed just 320 million years after the Big Bang when the Universe was still in its infancy, new research said on Tuesday. The Webb telescope has unleashed a torrent of scientific discovery since becoming operational last year, peering

A cross between a domestic pig and wild boar was bred in Canada decades ago. After escaping captivity, the “super pigs” spread throughout the country, wreaking havoc on native species and crops. Now, they may be making their way into the US. “They are the worst invasive large mammal on the planet. Period,” Ryan Brook,

Billionaire mogul Elon Musk and a range of experts called on Wednesday for a pause in the development of powerful artificial intelligence (AI) systems to allow time to make sure they are safe. An open letter, signed by more than 1,000 people so far including Musk and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, was prompted by the

WASHINGTON — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is once again requesting a significant budget increase for future weather satellite programs after Congress cut its funding request for 2023. In its fiscal year 2024 budget proposal, recently posted online, NOAA requested $417.4 million for the Geostationary Extended Observations, or GeoXO, program of next-generation geostationary weather

When you’re just a wee twisty, bendy rope of muscle, fang, and bone, your options may be slightly limited when you get yourself into a pickle. That’s why the dwarf reed snake (Pseudorabdion longiceps) developed what appears to be a unique way of fleeing. When danger approaches, the small, South Asian serpent flings itself ass

A synthetic analog of a black hole could tell us a thing or two about an elusive radiation theoretically emitted by the real thing. Using a chain of atoms in single-file to simulate the event horizon of a black hole, a team of physicists observed the equivalent of what we call Hawking radiation – particles

A dozen severed hands found piled in the courtyard of an ancient Egyptian palace could be the result of a gruesome “trophy-taking” ritual by a foreign invader, according to a new study. Inscriptions and reliefs from Egyptian tombs and temples depict mutilated or amputated hands as early as the New Kingdom from the 16th to

Astronomers have traced a repeating radio signal back to a rocky, Earth-sized exoplanet that appears to have one of the crucial factors that make a world habitable: a magnetic field. The planet is known as YZ Ceti b, and it’s orbiting a small red dwarf star located around 12 light-years from Earth. “The search for

It probably comes as no surprise to people living in low-lying coastal regions, but sea waters are rising by large, measurable amounts. That assessment comes from NASA, which has analyzed 30 years of sea-level satellite measurements. The news is not good. Since 1993, the seas rose by a total of 9.1 centimeters. Two years ago,

Researchers have developed a new energy-saving paint that repels heat, comes in any color, and should last centuries. It’s also the lightest paint created to date. Inspired by butterfly wings, this paint isn’t made from pigment. Instead, color is created structurally through the arrangement of nanoparticles. The team is calling it ‘plasmonic paint’. Based on

WASHINGTON — Small satellite manufacturer Apex will launch its first satellite next year as a demonstration of its capabilities as it prepares for large-scale production. Apex announced April 4 that its first Aries satellite will fly on SpaceX’s Transporter-10 rideshare mission, scheduled for launch no earlier than January 2024. The satellite mission, dubbed “Call to

Over many thousands of years, a species of animal that shared a close relationship with wolves slowly morphed into something that loves to curl up in your lap, get belly rubs, and eat kibble three times a day. These changes in dogs weren’t just behavioral. In fact, the changes in body plan – like shorter

Right down on a molecular level, water ice can form out of a rich variety of structures. Though they’re all fairly similar in general appearance, differences in their properties means distinct arrangements of solidified H2O can react and behave differently too. One such phase is called cubic ice, and it is the subject of ongoing

Mexico has recovered from the United States a giant stone statue known as an “Earth monster” that dates to the Olmec civilization before the Christian era, authorities said. ​The elaborately carved statue weighs more than a ton and is nearly six feet (1.8 meters) tall and five feet (1.5 meters) wide, the National Anthropology and

Astronomers have observed a rare case of a galaxy shapeshifting. A few decades ago, an object located some 630 million light-years away named PBC J2333.9-2343 was classified as a giant radio galaxy. It projected large, radio-emitting structures perpendicular to our line of sight, formed by colossal jets that once erupted from the galactic center. More

The operator of a nuclear facility in Minnesota said on Thursday the plant suffered a leak last November of water containing radioactive tritium, but that contamination was largely limited to the plant itself. Xcel Energy, operator of the nuclear plant northwest of Minneapolis in the Midwest state of Minnesota, did not say why it waited

Pick a card, any card. Like a devious magician, the Universe already knows your selection as the laws of physics guide everything from your neurological wiring to the contractions of your hand’s muscles. But, if asked to pick a particle from an empty patch of space, you might have a chance of fooling the Universe.

TAMPA, Fla. — The launch of the first commercial satellites in AST SpaceMobile’s cellphone-compatible broadband constellation has slipped into 2024, the company said March 31 as it disclosed rising costs for developing the network. AST SpaceMobile had planned to launch the first five BlueBird satellites it is building in-house on a SpaceX Falcon 9 before

Tyrannosaurus rex might not have been puckering up for a good ol’ snog, but the dinosaur‘s teeth were not exposed like a ‘gator’s; instead, they protected behind a pair of lizardy lips. That’s the result of work investigating the teeth and bones of reptiles and dinosaurs, present and past, finally resolving a long-standing debate in

A group of mathematicians has unveiled a brand new 13-sided shape they’ve simply called ‘the hat’. Don’t let the rather mundane description fool you though. This hat (which looks a bit like a fedora) is next season’s must-have fashion item, able to be tiled across a plane to create patterns that never repeat. Shapes like

The way a person speaks is an intrinsic part of their identity. It’s tribal, marking a speaker as being from one social group or another. Accents are a sign of belonging as much as something that separates communities. Yet we can probably all think of examples of people who seem to have “lost” their regional

An explosion that took place in a galaxy 180 million light-years away is challenging our understanding of how stars die, appearing to represent the flattest explosion of its kind on record. The monumental kaboom named AT2018cow belonged to an extremely rare class of cosmic blasts known as fast blue optical transients, or FBOTs. Unlike the

Millions of dead and rotting fish have clogged a vast stretch of river near a remote town in the Australian outback as a searing heat wave sweeps through the region. ​Videos posted to social media showed boats plowing through a blanket of dead fish smothering the water, with the surface barely visible underneath. ​The New

Imagine you’re thinking of a goldfish. Now, what if artificial intelligence could interpret what you’re thinking and turn that into an AI-generated image of a goldfish – or at least a pretty close version of it? It may sound like something out of science-fiction, but a preprint study published in November tried to do exactly

HELSINKI — A major Chinese state-owned defense contractor is preparing to launch the first satellite for a very low Earth orbit constellation.  The China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC) told Chinese state media in early March that its first satellite for a constellation of very-low Earth orbit (VLEO) satellites will launch in September. VLEO

Giant African pouched rats are as clever as they are cute. Trained them to wear little backpacks, they can rescue people from disaster areas in return for a treat. They can also find landmines that need disarming, sniff out tuberculosis, and have even been recruited in the fight against wildlife poaching. So handy are these

The humble proton is a lynchpin of the material Universe. Its characteristics define chemistry, governing teams of electrons that build atoms into molecules, and molecules into dazzling complexity. For all we understand of its behavior, the proton’s internal structure is a chaotic mess of activity scientists are still deciphering. A new experiment conducted at the