A groundbreaking superconducting X-ray spectrometer has begun operation at BESSY II, giving Europe its first TES-based system and boosting photon detection efficiency by up to 1,000 times。 The advance enables scientists to explore atomically thin materials, nanostructures, and ultra-dilute samples with remarkable speed and sensitivity
Scientists are calling for a lunar quarantine facility where samples from Mars, the Moon, and beyond would be examined before being brought to Earth。 They warn that even a tiny alien microorganism could have unpredictable effects on Earth's ecosystems。 By using robotic handling systems on the Moon, researchers hope to eliminate the risk of accident
Researchers have created an AI-based simulation that makes it much faster to model how neutron star mergers produce many of the universe's heaviest elements。 The new tool could improve predictions of these powerful explosions while helping scientists better connect observations in space with experiments on Earth
Astronomers have uncovered 31 of the oldest known quasars, including the two earliest ever detected, shining from a time when the universe was only about 670 million years old。 Powered by supermassive black holes billions of times the Sun’s mass, these incredibly bright objects challenge scientists’ understanding of how such enormous black holes fo
A planet with one side permanently roasting and the other frozen in endless darkness might still have a chance of supporting life。 Researchers found that heat inside a tidally locked exoplanet could circulate in a stable, continuous loop, helping moderate temperatures in certain regions。 Their laboratory model suggests these worlds may be more hosp
Water’s odd behavior becomes even more dramatic when it is supercooled, but scientists have struggled to compare the many different ways of describing its microscopic structure。 Researchers at the University of Osaka used an AI model trained on computer simulations to evaluate 16 different structural descriptors。 The system identified the most effe
Scientists have uncovered new evidence that fireworks can pollute both the air and water in ways that extend beyond the visible smoke。 The findings show that leftover debris, fine particles, and airborne chemicals may affect ecosystems and increase people's exposure to air pollution during major celebrations
More police and firefighters use drones to catch and deter illegal fireworks
The AC culture wars may be solved by advances in environmentally friendly technology
A major breakthrough in quantum technology has turned magnons, tiny magnetic waves once considered too short-lived for practical use, into promising carriers of quantum information。 Researchers extended their lifetime by nearly 100 times, reaching up to 18 microseconds, and discovered that the main limitation is not a law of physics but the purity
Scientists have rewritten the story of gallium after discovering that its unusual atomic bonds re-form at high temperatures, contradicting decades of accepted theory。 The finding changes how researchers explain why the metal melts so easily and behaves unlike almost any other metal。 Beyond solving a long-standing scientific mystery, the work could
Celebrating the United States' 250th anniversary, NASA released a stunning Hubble portrait of Messier 3, an ancient globular cluster with more than 500,000 stars。 The remarkable cluster is helping scientists unravel the Milky Way's past thanks to its rare stars and possible origins in a long ago cosmic merger
Scientists have identified new clues that could help astronomers spot one of the most famous hypothetical alien megastructures: a Dyson sphere。 The study finds that red dwarfs and white dwarfs are the most promising stars to examine, since advanced civilizations could potentially build energy-harvesting swarms around them more easily。 These objects
NASA is marking the United States' 250th birthday with four striking red, white, and blue images of deep space from the Chandra X-ray Observatory。 The collection features an exploded star, a stellar nursery, a galaxy where stars are rapidly forming, and a galaxy cluster that provides evidence for dark matter
The hunt for ancient life on Mars just got an important test run。 Scientists confirmed that the Rosalind Franklin rover's sophisticated instrument can detect subtle differences in two stable molecules that could preserve evidence of past life for billions of years。 But the team also uncovered a surprise: organic molecules in the Murchison meteorite