Category: Science & Engineering

At some early point in Earth’s history, a collection of increasingly complex chemicals performed a new trick. They somehow transformed themselves, with help from a jolt of energy, into an energy-producing and self-replicating cell. The timing of this critical moment in Earth’s history is hidden behind the passing of billions of years. Science has uncovered […]

Scientists have devised a new way to measure how capable artificial intelligence (AI) systems are — how fast they can beat, or compete with, humans in challenging tasks. While AIs can generally outperform humans in text prediction and knowledge tasks, when given more substantive projects to carry out, such as remote executive assistance, they are […]

Stomping around in bulky retro-style robot suits filming the opening episode of “Doctor Who” Season 2 might have seemed like fun, but for professional creature artists Stephen Love and Rob Strange it can be quite hazardous… especially if you topple over! “When you fell, you just had to surrender to it and wait until you […]

Dogs are sociable, enthusiastic and widely used to comfort people in settings like hospitals, schools and care homes. But an increasingly popular alternative is emerging: therapy cats. The term is often used loosely in the media and inconsistently within the scientific community. But in its strictest sense, animal-assisted therapy is a structured activity delivered by […]

Scientists have discovered a planet that is literally falling apart as it orbits its star. Located about 140 light-years from Earth in the Pegasus constellation , this doomed world named BD+05 4868 Ab whips around its star once every 30.5 hours — so close that its surface is being scorched into magma and vaporizing into […]

Jared Isaacman, President Trump’s choice to lead NASA, keeps having to explain his ties to Elon Musk. The topic came up repeatedly during Isaacman’s nomination hearing, which the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation held on April 9. Multiple Democratic senators pressed the 42-year-old billionaire on his relationship with the SpaceX chief, who was […]

Have you ever wondered why you don’t have thick hair covering your whole body like a dog, cat or gorilla does? Humans aren’t the only mammals with sparse hair. Elephants, rhinos and naked mole rats also have very little hair. It’s true for some marine mammals, such as whales and dolphins, too. Scientists think the […]

A “fast-feeding” black hole that appeared to defy physics is actually pretty ordinary, observations from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Reveal. In November 2024, astronomers using JWST reported that they’d found a black hole from the early universe that appeared to be gorging on matter 40 times faster than theoretically possible. The black hole, […]

SpaceX continues its steady pace of Starlink launches, ever growing the company’s orbital internet constellation. A Falcon 9 rocket launched SpaceX’s Starlink 6-74 mission Thursday night, April 24, out of Florida’s Space Coast. Liftoff occurred at 9:52 p.m. ET (0152 GMT, April 25) from Launch Complex-40 (LC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Stacked 28-tall […]

Dubbed the “bone collector,” this caterpillar found on a Hawaiian island disguises itself while stalking spider webs for trapped insects to eat. Source link