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
The AI chatbot was more effective at creating “exploitable trust” than the humans
A newly discovered turning point in the Sun’s 11-year cycle could allow scientists to predict future solar activity years earlier than before。 At this “switch-off” point, the most violent space weather abruptly ends, and the remaining number of sunspots offers clues about the next cycle’s strength。 Early projections suggest Solar Cycle 26 may be mo
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
Scientists have created a programmable optical chip that can slow light on demand, giving engineers far greater control over how optical signals propagate through a circuit。 The technology could provide the delays, synchronization, and buffering functions needed to make light-based computing more practical。 A single chip could eventually perform se
Sweden could become an important source of rare earth elements needed for magnets and green technologies。 Instead of extracting one target metal, researchers are cataloging everything contained in Swedish mineral deposits。 They will then develop magnets using those naturally available combinations, potentially reducing pollution, waste, and relianc
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
Researchers have created cosmic dust from scratch by recreating space-like conditions inside glass tubes。 The dust contains complex carbon-rich molecules built from elements essential to life and produces infrared signals similar to real material found in space。 By studying these laboratory samples, scientists can explore how organic chemistry unfo
Dying Sun-like stars may not fade away quietly。 As blobs of gas erupt unevenly from their swollen surfaces, each burst gives the star a tiny push in the opposite direction。 Thousands of these random kicks could eventually break apart distant stellar pairs or, in rare cases, drive two stars into a violent collision
A quantum problem once described as impossible for classical computers has now been solved using relatively modest hardware。 Researchers used tensor networks to compress the overwhelming wave function created by hundreds of entangled qubits, allowing some calculations to run on a laptop。 Their results matched both theoretical predictions and simula
Scientists have created twisted laser beams that interact differently with right-handed and left-handed molecules, revealing their identity through the fragments they produce。 The approach could provide a faster, simpler, and more sensitive way to analyze important molecules used in chemistry and pharmaceuticals
A black hole observed during a dramatic 2023 eruption did not simply devour gas from its nearby companion star。 It also expelled large amounts of material through powerful jets and winds, even after the outburst had nearly faded。 The results suggest black holes may continue reshaping their surroundings long after their brightest fireworks end
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
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
Autonomous vehicle giant disturbs residents' sleep
MIT engineers have found a way to give chip-based lidar a wider, clearer view without relying on moving parts。 Their design uses differently shaped antennas that can sit close together without scrambling one another’s signals。 In tests, the system sharply reduced interference while steering a single precise beam across a broad field of view
Scientists traced a mysterious surge of low-energy gamma rays from zinc-70 to magnetic changes occurring inside its nucleus。 The breakthrough could improve models of how stars, supernovae, and neutron star mergers create heavy elements