Researchers used the European XFEL to produce ultrashort X-ray flashes that reached record intensity for this type of pulse. To understand chemical reactions and perhaps one day control the electrons involved, scientists need a detailed picture of how electrons behave inside atoms and molecules. X-rays offer a way to probe that behavior, but the flashes […]
NASA’s James Webb Telescope Reveals a Giant Alien Planet That’s Not Quite Round
Weather maps of distant planets are a step closer after the James Webb Space Telescope distinguished hotter and cooler regions around the giant exoplanet WASP-17b. One side of WASP-17b’s atmosphere extends farther into space than the other, giving this intensely hot giant planet an uneven outline. Astronomers have now mapped that distortion with the James […]
What Kills Schrödinger’s Cat? Scientists Just Ruled Out a 60-Year-Old Theory
Gravity has been proposed as a reason quantum superpositions become difficult to observe in everyday objects. A new experiment challenges one longstanding model of this process. A detector buried deep beneath an Italian mountain has challenged a decades-old theory about why quantum behavior disappears from the world we experience. After 62 days of measurements, researchers […]
Quantum Computing Breakthrough Opens a New Path to Larger, More Powerful Processors
Keeping silicon quantum bits accurate while they work together could help turn established chipmaking technology into larger quantum computers capable of tackling increasingly complex problems. The manufacturing technology behind everyday computer chips could help build larger quantum computers. Silicon spin qubits offer that possibility, but the precision they achieve on their own can slip when […]
Scientists Discover Metals That Refuse To Crack at an Astonishing -424°F
Two experimental alloys resisted cracking at −424°F by forming new crystal defects, offering a possible route to tougher metals for extreme cold. Most metals become stronger as they cool, but some also become more vulnerable to breaking. Iron, tungsten, and chromium belong to a class called body-centered cubic metals, whose atomic arrangement can make them […]
Chernobyl’s Radioactive Debris Is Defying Scientists’ Expectations 40 Years Later
Some of Chernobyl’s radioactive debris is more resilient than scientists expected, offering clues to when the material trapped inside could escape into the environment. Radioactive dust still contaminates the soil around Chernobyl four decades after explosions scattered debris from the nuclear reactor in Ukraine in 1986. The fragments measure just 8 to 50 micrometers across […]
The World May Be Much Closer to a Major Conservation Goal Than Scientists Thought
The world may be closer to its 30% land conservation goal, but gaps in grassland and shrubland protection show why acreage alone cannot safeguard wildlife. Some areas that support wildlife appear in national conservation records but are missing from the global tally. Including them could bring the share of land in some form of conservation […]
The World May Be Much Closer to a Major Conservation Goal Than Scientists Thought
The world may be closer to its 30% land conservation goal, but gaps in grassland and shrubland protection show why acreage alone cannot safeguard wildlife. Some areas that support wildlife appear in national conservation records but are missing from the global tally. Including them could bring the share of land in some form of conservation […]
The World May Be Much Closer to a Major Conservation Goal Than Scientists Thought
The world may be closer to its 30% land conservation goal, but gaps in grassland and shrubland protection show why acreage alone cannot safeguard wildlife. Some areas that support wildlife appear in national conservation records but are missing from the global tally. Including them could bring the share of land in some form of conservation […]
A 1,000-Year-Old DNA Mystery Links Hawaii and Easter Island and Reveals Hidden Genetic Dangers
The DNA that traces Hawaii’s settlement also points to overlooked disease risks, with some globally rare variants common enough among Eastern Polynesians to warrant screening. Hawaii and Easter Island lie about 7,000 kilometers (4,350 miles) apart, roughly the distance from San Francisco to Lima, Peru. New genetic evidence suggests that ancient sailors from the Easter […]