Collaborate Disseminate
On 12 July, 2017, one of the biggest icebergs ever seen broke off from the Antarctic mainland. Now on the third anniversary of the event, satellite data has shown that the berg has traveled over 1,000 km (620 mi) and managed to stay relatively intact.C… Continue reading Satellites show huge Antarctic iceberg drifted 1,000 km in three years
The closest confirmed black hole to Earth is 1,000 light-years away – but could there be one hiding in our own backyard? It’s been hypothesized that a tiny black hole could be orbiting the Sun beyond Neptune, and now astronomers have proposed how we mi… Continue reading Planet Nine could be a black hole, and a new telescope will tell us
The CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing system is an extremely powerful tool, but there are still a few kinks to iron out. One of the main problems is off-target edits, which can have serious consequences. Now, researchers have found a particular mutation of the … Continue reading New CRISPR enzyme mutation proves almost 100 times more precise
Despite seemingly-endless advances in experimental battery designs, good old lithium-ion batteries continue to be the frontrunner. There’s still plenty of room for improvement though, and now researchers have identified a new cathode coating that could… Continue reading Lifetime of lithium-ion batteries boosted by new cathode coating
Radiation is famously damaging, both to living tissue and materials. But now, engineers at MIT have been surprised to discover that radiation may actually help certain alloys to self-heal, extending their useful lifetime. This could obviously help info… Continue reading Radiation appears to help some metal alloys self-heal
An independent review team has concluded its investigation of NASA and Boeing’s failed Starliner launch last December. A total of 80 recommendations for future missions were put forward across several categories, and both organizations conducted their … Continue reading NASA and Boeing complete investigations into Starliner launch failure
Robots are learning to do the jobs of human factory workers, bus drivers, burger flippers, butlers, and healthcare workers, among many others – and now, they may be coming for scientists as well. Engineers at the University of Liverpool have developed … Continue reading Autonomous robot scientist can choose its own experiments
Evaporation is one of the most enduring methods of purifying water to make it drinkable. Now researchers at the University of Science and Technology of China have developed a novel device made of wood that can do just that, by employing bacteria to hel… Continue reading Solar power, wood and bacteria join forces to purify water for drinking
Scientists are getting creative with new ways to produce fuels and electricity, but they can introduce their own problems too. Making biofuel from algae, for example, is showing promise, but it does create large amounts of toxic wastewater. Now, resear… Continue reading Zaps of electricity clean up wastewater from biofuel production
The microscopic structure of a material plays a huge role in how well it absorbs impacts, and now researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory have hit upon a structure that works particularly well. The team 3D-printed cubes with fractal voids inside … Continue reading Fractal void cubes could make for better shock-dissipating armor