Sometimes science fiction does inspire science research. la Jurassic Parks entombed mosquito, scientists have developed a method to store DNA in an amberlike material and still extract it easily hours later. This storage method is cheaper and faster than existing options, the researchers report in the June Journal of the American Chemical Society. If you … Read more
Nuclear power of the future is going to need fuel. That has governments, energy companies and nuclear engineers clamoring to get their hands on HALEU: high-assay low-enriched uranium. HALEU (pronounced like Hey, Lou) was previously a niche material, used mainly in nuclear reactors conducting scientific research. But now, multiple companies in the United States have … Read more
Brief blasts of light might make some materials into fleeting superconductors. A new study strengthens the case for this controversial claim, first made more than a decade ago. But while some physicists are convinced, others remain skeptical. Superconductors transmit electricity without resistance, typically only at low temperatures. But since 2011, some scientists have claimed that … Read more
The neutrino fog is beginning to materialize. Lightweight subatomic particles called neutrinos have begun elbowing their way into the data of experiments not designed to spot them. Two experiments, built to detect particles of dark matter, have caught initial glimpses of neutrinos born in the sun, physicists report. Thats a triumph, says neutrino physicist Kate … Read more
To expand the periodic table, it might be time to go titanium. A new study lays the groundwork to expand the periodic table with a search for element 120, to be made by slamming electrically charged titanium atoms, or ions, into a californium target. If produced, the new element would have an atomic nucleus brimming … Read more
Any way you slice it, a paper cut is painful. Magazines, letters and books harbor a devious potential for minor self-induced agony. But other types of paper like thin tissue paper or the thicker stuff used for postcards are less likely to offend. Scientists have now explained the physics behind why some paper is more … Read more
The rotation of the Earth has been measured many times, but never like this. At first, scientists used entangled quantum particles called photons to detect the speed at which the globe spins. The achievement is a step toward investigating one of physics’ greatest mysteries: how the tiny world of quantum physics interacts with gravity. This … Read more
Extreme Climate Survey Scientific news is collecting questions from readers about how to navigate our planet’s changing climate. What do you want to know about extreme heat and how it can lead to extreme weather events? Most radiant cooling designs include roofs designed to receive and then emit the sun’s energy in infrared wavelengths that … Read more