Science & Technology
This giant stick insect fooled scientists for decades
Scientists have identified two new species of large Australian stick insects, including one that lays extraordinary “lidded” eggs never before recorded in the group. The discovery also revealed that a familiar stick insect had been misidentified for de…
New “plant armor” more than triples strawberry yields
A new protective fabric boosted strawberry yields by as much as 3.56 times while blocking insects and still allowing sunlight, rain, and airflow to reach the plants. Originally inspired by research on military clothing, Plant Armor could also help farm…
This new qubit could be 100 times less error-prone in superfluid quantum computer breakthrough
A proposed qubit made with superfluid helium could cut quantum computing error rates by around 100 times by shielding quantum information from common forms of electromagnetic noise. If experiments confirm the predictions, the technology could eventuall…
This light-powered AI can spot deepfakes with nearly 98% accuracy
UCLA researchers built an AI system that uses light to analyze more than a dozen videos simultaneously, detecting deepfakes with nearly 98% accuracy. Its speed, low energy demands, and resistance to attacks could make it a powerful tool for screening t…
This diet may slow brain aging by 2.5 years
People who followed the MIND diet more closely showed slower brain shrinkage and less grey matter loss over time, with the strongest differences equivalent to about 2.5 years of delayed brain aging. Berries and poultry were linked with healthier brain …
1 in 13 adults under 30 already had hidden artery plaque
More than half of 16,000 apparently healthy adults had signs of atherosclerosis, with arterial plaques already detectable in about 1 in 13 people ages 18 to 29. Researchers say directly imaging the arteries could reveal hidden cardiovascular disease ye…
Could quitting ultra-processed food boost your mental health?
People with depression who dramatically cut ultra-processed foods experienced notable improvements in their symptoms in a small preliminary study. Researchers suspect healthier eating may benefit the brain partly by reducing gut damage and chronic infl…
Alzheimer’s risk gene APOE4 may have a reversible weakness
The Alzheimer’s risk gene APOE4 may actively damage brain blood vessels and sabotage the cellular systems that remove harmful proteins. Researchers were able to reverse some of these effects in experiments, revealing promising new targets for Alzheimer…
Caltech physicists finally measure a quantum energy ladder predicted 40 years ago
Researchers have experimentally observed energy patterns that physicists have predicted for about 40 years. By arranging laser-trapped atoms into a quantum simulator, they recreated two different quantum tipping points and watched the atoms fall into t…