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
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
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
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
Researchers discovered a proton-assisted mechanism that greatly improves how triplet energy moves between quantum dots and nearby molecules。 The proton briefly shifts position, helps coordinate electron movement, and then returns to where it started。 This quantum-driven shuttle could offer a powerful new way to tune solar cells, lasers, and catalyt
Exploits can give persistent server access that survives credential rotation and disk re-imaging
A distant Sun-like star appears to have devoured one of its planets, leaving behind a surprising chemical fingerprint。 Researchers found an unusually high concentration of lithium, a strong sign that planetary material was mixed into the star。 Careful comparisons with dozens of similar stars confirmed the signal is highly unusual, and scientists th
The asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs was likely an exceptionally rare CO chondrite from a distant region of the solar system。 Its unusual chemistry suggests that planet-cooling dust and debris, rather than sulfur inside the asteroid, may have delivered the deadliest blow
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
Cosmic expansion allows distant galaxies to move away faster than light, while still letting us see ancient light they emitted when they were much closer。 Eventually, accelerating expansion will push nearly every galaxy beyond our Local Group out of sight, making the Universe appear almost empty
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
NASA is preparing for future astronaut landings on the Moon with an unusually ambitious orbital rehearsal。 During Artemis III in 2027, Orion astronauts will rendezvous and dock separately with prototype lunar landers from Blue Origin and SpaceX, allowing crews and ground teams to test the complex maneuvers needed for later missions
A new analysis suggests the Sun holds far more silver than earlier estimates indicated。 More advanced models of the solar atmosphere raised the calculated amount by 55 percent, bringing it into much closer agreement with ancient meteorites。 The technique may also help scientists track the cosmic origins of silver and other heavy elements
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