A new particle detector called PLATON could replace millions of tiny detector components with a single block of light-producing material。 Using a light-field camera, highly sensitive photon sensors, and AI, it reconstructs particle paths in fast, detailed 3D。 Simulations suggest it could match or surpass today’s best detectors while being far easie
Scientists have built the first all-optical photonic time crystal, allowing them to reshape the behavior of terahertz light at extraordinary speeds。 The breakthrough could open the door to ultrafast computing, smarter communication systems, advanced imaging, and a new generation of highly tunable lasers
Rice University chemists have found a new way to make neodymium, a rare-earth metal, interact with oxygen。 Using a specially designed molecular structure described as a “basket,” the team positioned the atoms so they could form a bond once thought unlikely。 The breakthrough produced highly reactive compounds that could eventually give chemists alte
Popular AI-powered food apps may make calorie counting easier, but they may also leave out a surprisingly large part of the meal。 Four apps underestimated calories and fat by about one-third when tested against carefully prepared meals。 High-fat ketogenic dishes appeared to cause the most trouble, while carbohydrates were measured more consistently
Scientists discovered unusually high water-vapor supersaturation inside deep tropical clouds, creating conditions in which tiny aerosol particles could intensify storm updrafts。 The finding suggests earlier studies may have missed the effect because they were looking in the wrong types of clouds
A person’s sleeping brain may reveal warning signs of dementia long before memory problems begin。 Researchers used machine learning to analyze EEG recordings from about 7,000 adults and found that an older-than-expected “brain age” was tied to a sharply higher dementia risk。 Every additional 10 years of brain aging raised that risk by nearly 40%
The longevity-linked APOE2 gene appears to protect brain cells by reducing DNA damage and helping neurons recover from stress。 The finding could open a new path toward treatments that mimic APOE2’s defenses in people at higher genetic risk for Alzheimer’s
Engineers have transformed a notoriously brittle cobalt-aluminum compound into a material that is both extremely strong and capable of bending without breaking。 Their nanoscale design produced a yield strength about six to 10 times greater than high-strength structural steel while sustaining substantial deformation at room temperature。 The approach
Physicists have uncovered a surprising limit to electrical resistance caused by particles colliding。 Using ultracold potassium atoms trapped in a grid of light, researchers created a highly controlled stand-in for electrons moving through a solid。 As collisions became more frequent and intense, resistance initially rose, but eventually hit a ceilin
Astronomers may have been listening for alien civilizations in only a small slice of the radio spectrum while overlooking a largely unexplored range of higher frequencies。 Using archived data from the ALMA telescope in Chile, researchers conducted the observatory’s first SETI survey, searching for narrow signals that could indicate advanced technol
Researchers in the Gulf of California have documented a dramatic orca behavior never described before。 In two separate encounters, one orca gripped a dead sunfish by the fin while another charged into it at high speed, blasting the carcass into thousands of pieces
A new chemical process can transform three of the most common plastics into high-purity hydrogen without sorting them first。 The technique operates at much lower temperatures than traditional gasification and captures most of the plastic’s carbon in solid or liquid forms instead of releasing it as carbon dioxide
Signals traveling from the gut to the brain may help turn meals into lasting memories。 Rats showed stronger memory activity after consuming nutritious foods, but not after drinking sweet liquids with little or no nutritional value。 Blocking the vagus nerve erased this effect and made it harder for the animals to remember where food had been located