Is ranch dressing a liquid or a solid? A physicist explains
A physicist explains that the short answer is both … and neither.
March 10, 2025
253
Technology
‘Pac-Man with a ponytail’ proteins regulate everything from night vision to heartbeats – studying wh
Master switches of cell communication, G protein-coupled receptor kinases are the target of many drugs across a range of…
March 7, 2025
218
Beyond AI regulation: How government and industry can team up to make the technology safer without h
AI innovation and governance can coexist. The key is combining public-private partnerships, market audits and accountability.
March 7, 2025
288
Butterflies declined by 22% in just 2 decades across the US – there are ways you can help save them
The causes involve more than just habitat loss, but there are steps you can take to help save these delicate creatures
March 6, 2025
383
How 18F transformed government technology − and why its elimination matters
18F was the US government’s in-house technology consultancy, lauded for saving taxpayer money and improving services.…
March 6, 2025
257
DOGE threat: How government data would give an AI company extraordinary power
As DOGE taps into sensitive federal agency data repositories, many people fear what could happen to the data. One little-discussed…
March 6, 2025
302
Anger is a flow of emotion like water through a hose − at work, it helps to know when to turn it up
By thinking of the flow of anger, you can unpack its key dimensions: its path and intensity. Is the stream pointed effectively?…
March 6, 2025
367
What’s that microplastic? Advances in machine learning are making identifying plastics in the enviro
To deal with microplastic pollution, it helps agencies to know what kind of plastic they’ve got on their hands.
March 6, 2025
257
COVID-19 is the latest epidemic to show biomedical breakthroughs aren’t enough to eliminate a diseas
Scientific discoveries are necessary to eliminate epidemic diseases. But addressing socioeconomic factors is just as essential…
March 5, 2025
294
Extreme heat silently accelerates aging on a molecular level − new research
People living in locations that experience frequent extreme heat days age faster at the molecular level.
March 4, 2025
308
Out-of-balance bacteria is linked to multiple sclerosis − the ratio can predict severity of disease
Levels of 2 types of bacteria in your gut could help improve the diagnosis and treatment of multiple sclerosis.
March 3, 2025
163
How are clouds’ shapes made? A scientist explains the different cloud types and how they help foreca
Puffy to wispy, barely there or dark and menacing, clouds come in many shapes and sizes. Each tells a story about what’s…
March 3, 2025
248
Maple seeds’ unique spinning motion allows them to travel far even in the rain, a new study shows
Spinning maple seeds can shed raindrops in the blink of an eye to regain their helicopter-like flight.
February 28, 2025
401
The science behind airplane deicing – a mechanical engineer explains how chemistry and physics make
Waiting for your plane to get deiced may be annoying, but it’s an essential safety step in chilly conditions.
February 28, 2025
361
AIs flunk language test that takes grammar out of the equation
Humans understand that ‘red ball’ makes sense but ‘ball red’ does not. Large language models? Not so much.
February 26, 2025
286
What’s the shape of the universe? Mathematicians use topology to study the shape of the world and ev
Topologists categorize all the possible shapes in each dimension.
February 26, 2025
328
Selenium is an essential nutrient named after the Greek goddess of the Moon − crucial to health, it
You need only trace amounts of selenium to survive. Falling outside of this narrow therapeutic window can have significant…
February 25, 2025
352
Making sex deadly for insects could control pests that carry disease and harm crops
Mosquitoes cause around a million deaths per year. So, scientists are coming up with genetic engineering techniques that…
February 21, 2025
287
Colliding plasma ejections from the Sun generate huge geomagnetic storms − studying them will help s
While geomagnetic storms can lead to gorgeous aurora displays, they can also damage satellites and GPS.
February 21, 2025
294
p53 is both your genome’s guardian and weakness against cancer – scientists are trying to repair or
The gene that codes for p53 is the most frequently mutated in cancer. Researchers are targeting different parts of its complex…
February 20, 2025
255