Optical illusions are a brain feature, not a bug. Here’s the science behind them
A grayscale ballerina who appears to be moving. A human who can fit in a doll box. A black-and-white prism that appears to change shape
Category: Science
A molecule produced by gut microbes may help spur heart disease
A leftover from microbes’ meals is linked to early heart disease in people. In mice, it contributed to plaque buildup in the arteries.
A quantum computer goes to space
Quantum computers in space could be useful for communications networks or for testing fundamental physics.
‘Universal’ cancer vaccine heading to human trials could be useful for ‘all forms of cancer’
A new mRNA-based vaccine triggers a response from the innate immune system to help arm the body against cancer, a mouse study finds. It’s now
Sticky goo in 2,500-year-old bronze jars finally identified, settling 70-year debate
A cutting-edge chemical analysis of a mystery substance that had stymied experts for 70 years finally revealed its identity.
Watch 1,000 baby spiders devour their mothers and aunties alive in stomach-turning, first-of-its-kind footage
Footage from the BBC’s new nature series “Parenthood” shows African social spiders committing matricide and cannibalizing their elderly relatives. Even Sir David Attenborough was horrified.
NASA Drop Test Supports Safer Air Taxi Designs
An aircraft body modeled after an air taxi with weighted test dummies inside is being prepared for a drop test by researchers at NASA’s Langley Research
She Owes Her Big Environmental Prize To Goats Eating Plastic Bags
Gloria Majiga-Kamoto, an activist from Malawi, is one of six recipients of the 2021 Goldman Environmental Prize. Majiga-Kamoto has been instrumental in implementing Malawi’s ban
Mitochondria aren’t only the ‘powerhouses of cells’ — they also battle germs
Mitchondria may be “watchtowers” of the immune system, contributing to our defenses against germs.
Scientists discover fast-spinning ‘unicorn’ object that defies physics
Astronomers have detected a puzzling ‘unicorn’ object that’s speeding up rather than slowing down, contrary to the laws of physics.
The Manhattan gunman believed he had CTE. What does that mean?
The gunman accused of killing four people in New York City suspected he had chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE — a degenerative brain disease often
Trump’s EPA wants to eliminate regulation for greenhouse gases
The Trump administration proposes eliminating a 2009 finding that greenhouse gases endanger people. That would undermine the EPA’s climate change regulations for power plants and
The EPA proposes gutting its greenhouse gas rules. Here’s what it means for cars and pollution
The Trump administration has effectively eliminated two rules designed to promote cleaner cars. Now, as the EPA suggests not considering carbon dioxide to be pollution
Polluted air can generate power
Researchers from the University of Antwerp and KU Leuven have succeeded in developing a process that purifies air and, at the same time, generates power.