Life on Earth could continue for another 1.8 billion years, according to new research. This figure, which is based on complex climate models, is far longer than many previous studies indicated. As the sun evolves, it is getting brighter. Our star is currently producing about a third more energy than it did at the dawn … Read more
If you push two metal plates together on Earth, nothing happens. But if you take those same plates into the vacuum of space, they can fuse into a single piece of metal. This phenomenon, called cold welding, has been a known hazard for spacecraft engineers for a long time. So what’s actually happening at the … Read more
It takes a dozen or so hours for the mushroom to kick in. Then, the hallucinations are unlike any others known to science. On this trip, there are none of the heightened colors, breathing or pulsing objects, nor geometrical patterns typically reported by users of psychedelic substances. In fact, the hundreds of people who enter … Read more
Researchers have demonstrated that a computer worm powered by artificial intelligence (AI) can autonomously spread across a network by identifying and exploiting vulnerabilities on different devices, raising fresh concerns about how the technology could change the future of cyberattacks. The proof-of-concept malware, developed by researchers at the University of Toronto and cybersecurity firm CleverHans, combines … Read more
For years, scientists have suspected that, at the molecular level, water is two different liquids — a denser one and a less-dense one — that are constantly switching places. Catching real molecular evidence of this microscopic transformation has been hard. But now, with help from artificial intelligence, researchers say they’ve finally found it. “It’s hard … Read more
Humans have been searching the stars for alien radio signals for decades — and so far, E.T. has not phoned home. But that doesn’t mean intelligent life isn’t out there, a new study hints. Rather, something else could be interfering: according to the research, space weather surrounding alien planets could be preventing us from detecting … Read more
When galaxies collide, it’s less like a train wreck and more like a marriage: Two separate entities merge into a single massive celestial structure. But relationships are hard, whether you’re a human or a galaxy — and this process may also “kill” the merging galaxies by unleashing star-quenching winds. This mechanism may help to explain … Read more
In southwest China, Chinese soldiers load and fire rockets toward the sky as aircraft and drones circle overhead, dropping their toxic cargo into the air. The weapons are not trained on an enemy, and the planes aren’t dropping bombs. Instead, they are targeting the clouds hovering in the sky. This footage is just a tiny … Read more
The San Andreas and San Jacinto fault systems are at their highest levels of tectonic stress in 1,000 years, raising the threat of a major, imminent earthquake that could devastate Southern California, a new study finds. The faults could rupture separately or together, thanks to an “earthquake gate” between them at Cajon Pass, where the … Read more
NASA has revealed the next steps in its plans to build humanity’s first lunar outpost, with three uncrewed missions to the moon targeted for later this year. The missions, announced by the U.S. space agency at a news conference on Tuesday (May 26), are the first of many to begin laying the foundations for a … Read more
