Science & Technology
Terraforming Mars may be more realistic than scientists once thought
Scientists say new technologies have reopened the debate over whether Mars could someday be terraformed, turning a once impossible idea into a serious research topic. Before anyone tries to reshape the Red Planet, though, researchers say we must unders…
“Silly sprinklers” help scientists finally solve Feynman’s famous sprinkler mystery
A team of mathematicians used whimsical “silly sprinklers” to solve a physics mystery that has puzzled scientists for decades. Their experiments showed that the rotation of both normal and reverse sprinklers is driven by the momentum of flowing water, …
Tiny plastics in drinking water may be making dangerous bacteria stronger
Tiny plastic particles in drinking water may be doing more than contaminating the environment. New research suggests nanoplastics can actually help harmful bacteria survive by strengthening the slimy biofilms they form inside water systems. These tough…
Your fingers may hold a secret of human brain evolution
A study of 225 newborns suggests prenatal estrogen may have played a role in the evolution of larger human brains. Boys with finger-length patterns linked to higher estrogen exposure before birth tended to have larger head circumferences, which are str…
Koalas nearly went extinct before humans arrived, DNA study reveals
A major DNA study has rewritten the koala’s evolutionary story, revealing that the species suffered a dramatic population collapse about 100,000 years ago, long before humans arrived in Australia. By calculating the koala’s mutation rate for the first …
Scientists tested 39 sweeteners and found unexpected gut effects
A large laboratory study found that many commonly used sweeteners can directly change the growth of gut bacteria. Researchers identified more than 100 cases in which sweeteners behaved differently when combined with medications, caffeine, or flavorings…
Scientists built a camera that can track invisible particles in 3D
A new particle detector called PLATON could replace millions of tiny detector components with a single block of light-producing material. Using a light-field camera, highly sensitive photon sensors, and AI, it reconstructs particle paths in fast, detai…
New “living plastic” self-destructs in just 6 days without leaving microplastics
Researchers have created self-destructing living plastic that uses engineered bacteria to completely break itself down when activated. The material degrades in just six days without creating microplastics, offering a potential new solution for single-u…
This sugar-coated therapy boosted survival against deadly brain cancer by 50% in mice
A new experimental treatment may have found a way to outsmart glioblastoma’s toughest defense: the blood-brain barrier. Researchers used sugar-coated nanoparticles to ferry genetic instructions that restore a key tumor-suppressing protein directly into…