Scientists have developed a new type of optical disc that can increase information storage capacity to the “petabit” level — 125 terabytes of data, or the combined storage capacity of about 15,000 DVDs. Optical discs, such as DVDs and Blu-ray discs, are durable and inexpensive. A standard single-layer Blu-ray disc can store 25 gigabytes. By … Read more
Scientists have created a new biocomputing chip that makes calculations using a DNA substrate, including mathematical operations essential to artificial intelligence (AI) training and big data processing. Researchers described the new biocomputing platform Oct. 19, 2023, in the journal PLOS One. DNA is known as the blueprint for life and encodes genetic information, like data … Read more
Most of the cell types in your body appear in many places — for example, humans have photoreceptors throughout our nervous systems, not just our eyes. So it seems strange that taste receptors would only be found on the tongue. Turns out, you actually have taste receptors throughout your body; you just can’t taste what … Read more
A vehicle that’s a strange blend between a futuristic electric minivan and the rear half of an airplane could soon revolutionize island-hopping. The unusual vehicle, which is currently still only a concept, will be able to travel both on land and in the air and be powered by electricity or hydrogen, its designers claim. The … Read more
Scientists have discovered that the target asteroid of NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) may have been reshaped by the impact. A new investigation into the collision’s aftermath revealed that the asteroid, which is the smaller component of a binary asteroid system, exhibits a loose “rubble-pile” composition. DART slammed into the moonlet Dimorphos, which orbits … Read more
Water vapor in the stratosphere forms a sponge-like barrier that prevents heat radiating from Earth from escaping out into space. Now, scientists are exploring the plausibility of dehydrating this layer of the atmosphere to cool our warming planet. The stratosphere extends between 7.5 and 31 miles (12 and 50 kilometers) above Earth’s surface and sits … Read more
Earth’s present-day climate change is human-induced, but the gravitational tugs of other planets can also cause long-term climatic patterns by slightly changing our planet’s orbit. Now, research suggests that massive passing stars can alter Earth’s path, too — and that these cosmic tugs may limit researchers’ ability to study the links between past changes in … Read more
Approximately 25 million years ago, an ancestor of both humans and apes genetically diverged from monkeys and lost its tail. No one had identified the genetic mutation responsible for this dramatic change in our physiology — until now. In a new study published Wednesday (Feb. 28) in the journal Nature, researchers identified a unique DNA … Read more
Scientists have narrowed down the likely hiding place of the elusive “Planet Nine,” after ruling out more than three-quarters of the hypothetical world’s suspected orbital pathway. In a new study, the researchers — who have been looking for the planet for almost a decade — said they believe they could find the elusive world in … Read more
Within the next few decades, NASA aims to land humans on the Moon, set up a lunar colony and use the lessons learned to send people to Mars as part of its Artemis program. While researchers know that space travel can stress space crew members both physically and mentally and test their ability to work … Read more
