Researchers in China have pioneered a formula for a nontoxic “aqueous battery” that they say could last 10 times longer than today’s best devices. What’s more, the water battery achieves this epic lifespan without degrading and can be disposed of safely in the environment, the team reported in a new study. For the new method, … Read more
Astronauts could complete a round trip to Mars in less than a year someday, potentially cutting current mission timelines in half, according to a new study that drew inspiration from asteroid trajectories. Under current mission profiles, reaching Mars, which is located about 50% farther from the sun than Earth is, takes roughly seven to 10 … Read more
Scientists may have detected more than 10,000 never-before-seen exoplanets in a single survey, potentially tripling the number of known alien worlds in one fell swoop. The record-breaking haul was possible thanks to a new algorithm that helped researchers analyze more than 80 million stars — revealing subtle clues that would otherwise be “impossible” for us … Read more
Research suggests we are on the brink of crossing several ecological “tipping points” that could derail ecosystems like the Amazon rainforest and permafrost-covered tundras. But just as humans can cause these negative tipping points, we can also trigger positive ones that restore ecosystems, says Tim Lenton, a professor of climate change and Earth system science … Read more
Birds have spread their wings the world over, but they first took flight at least 150 million years ago, during the dinosaur age. In his new book “The Story of Birds: A New History from Their Dinosaur Origins to the Present” (Mariner Books, 2026), Steve Brusatte, who is a paleontologist at the University of Edinburgh … Read more
An Australian startup is building what could become one of the world’s first “biological data centers” — augmenting silicon computing chips with those seeded with living human neurons. Cortical Labs, the company behind the effort, has opened its first facility in Melbourne, Australia, and is planning a larger site in Singapore. Instead of racks filled … Read more
Legend has it that King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table were busy heroes, with tales of them slaying a giant, organizing a successful search for the Holy Grail, and ruling a kingdom from a city called Camelot. Some stories say Arthur was conceived or born at Tintagel, a site in Cornwall, England, … Read more
The sun has been Earth’s constant companion ever since our planet emerged. But if the sun were to suddenly disappear, what would happen to our home planet? To understand the fate of a sunless Earth, it’s important to know how both arose. The sun formed about 4.6 billion years ago, when a massive spinning cloud … Read more
Mars is hiding a clutch of ruby-like crystals in its rocks, observations from the Perseverance rover suggest, and astronomers say other precious minerals, like sapphires, could exist across the Red Planet, too. An international team of researchers presented the findings, based on observations from spring 2025, March 16 at the 57th Lunar and Planetary Science … Read more
Human-driven climate change is slowing Earth’s rotation at a rate not seen in 3.6 million years, with sea level rise increasing the length of days by 1.33 milliseconds per century, according to a new study. Earth spins faster when its mass is more concentrated, just as twirling figure skaters pull in their arms to speed … Read more
