A mathematician working at Anthropic says he used the AI model Claude Fable 5 to uncover a remarkably simple counterexample to the Jacobian conjecture, a famous problem that has resisted mathematicians for more than a century。 The result shows that the conjecture is false in three dimensions and above, although the original two-dimensional version
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
Researchers have found a way to build much larger “twisted” oxide materials while precisely controlling how their atomic layers line up。 Because these materials can be made over large areas and transferred onto different surfaces, the technique could help turn twistronics from a laboratory curiosity into a practical platform for next-generation ele
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
A supermassive black hole has been found lurking about 30,000 light-years from the center of its galaxy—the first dormant black hole detected so far from a galactic core。 It revealed itself only after shredding a passing star and producing a brief, brilliant flare。 Astronomers think it may be the remnant of a devoured galaxy or a black hole flung o
Ultrafast X-rays revealed how a molecule converts absorbed light into motion in just trillionths of a second。 Individual atoms recorded different stages of the process, opening a powerful new window into light-driven chemistry
NASA’s Swift Observatory observed a supermassive black hole ripping apart a star more than 30,000 light-years from the center of a distant galaxy。 The extraordinary flare briefly outshone its entire host galaxy in ultraviolet light and revealed a black hole about a million times the Sun’s mass
Scientists have created an “electron lighthouse” that uses laser light to launch and steer electrons through a semiconductor without an applied electrical field。 The quantum effect could eventually improve optical sensors, communications, imaging, and information storage
Scientists have identified LHAASO J1912+1014u as a cosmic accelerator that can push protons beyond one quadrillion electron volts。 The finding may help reveal where the Milky Way’s most energetic cosmic rays come from and how they influence the galaxy
A new hollow nanoreactor mimics living cells to make hydrogen peroxide more efficiently using visible light。 Its light-trapping cavity and proton-shuttling shell could open new possibilities for cleaner chemical manufacturing and artificial photosynthesis
Cloudflare built an AI agent workspace for its employees。 Now it’s open source
Primordial black holes may occasionally pass through white dwarf stars and trigger enormous Type Ia supernova explosions。 Researchers found that these events could explain chemical patterns seen in supernova remnants, nearby explosions, and stars across the Milky Way
Mathematicians have shown that no electoral system can perfectly balance local representation, proportional national results, and a fixed-size parliament once enough parties compete。 A newly proposed voting method could soften these unavoidable trade-offs and produce outcomes that are much closer to fair
A new 3D printing technique can produce exceptionally hard tungsten carbide cobalt while using less of its expensive raw materials。 By softening rather than fully melting the material, researchers created defect-free samples with industrial-grade hardness and opened the door to more efficient manufacturing
Europa’s hidden ocean has made the icy moon one of the solar system’s most promising places to search for habitable conditions。 Scientists have hoped that water from this deep ocean might rise through cracks and form shallow reservoirs that future spacecraft could more easily study。 New simulations suggest that journey is unlikely because turbulent
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%