Number 370
== repeat??
Unique pan-cancer immunotherapy destroys tumors without attacking healthy tissue
A new, highly potent class of immunotherapeutics with unique Velcro-like binding properties can kill diverse cancer types without harming normal tissue.
Low-cost sensor system can check indoor air quality in real time
The devices are built on Arduino microcontrollers—tiny, affordable computers often used in research and do-it-yourself projects. Hooked up to sensors, they measure carbon dioxide, fine particles and nitrogen dioxide.
Solar-powered system produces green hydrogen directly from air moisture
roton Exchange Membrane Water Electrolysis (PEMWE) technology is one of the primary routes for producing green hydrogen, drawing significant attention due to its high efficiency and high-purity hydrogen output. However, the PEMWE process heavily relies on high-purity water as the reaction raw material, limiting its application in water-scarce regions.
Earth scientists often face huge challenges when researching Earth’s history: many significant events occurred such a long time ago that there is little direct evidence available. Consequently, researchers often have to rely on indirect clues or on computer models.
Quantum random number generator combines small size and high speed
True randomness is essential for secure online banking, private messaging, and protecting sensitive data from hackers, and the rising need for stronger digital protection is driving fast-growing demand for high-quality random numbers generated at high speeds.
New research shows how longevity is inherited across generations
They’ve shown that by overexpressing an enzyme in the lysosomes of the roundworm C. elegans, they can extend the worm’s life by up to 60%. But surprisingly, the team found the worms’ progeny without this genetic modification were still living longer than normal.
Rare nova super-remnant discovered in the Large Magellanic Cloud
Nova super-remnants (NSRs) are greatly extended shell-like structures significantly larger than singular eruption nova shells. They grow by repeated nova eruptions sweeping the surrounding material away from a nova into a dense outer shell.
Carbon cycle flaw could push Earth into an ice age as planet overcorrects for warming
The traditional view among researchers is that Earth’s climate is kept in check by a slow-moving but reliable natural system of rock weathering.
Atomic sensors could support big science, semiconductors, and more.
100 years before quantum mechanics, one scientist glimpsed a link between light and matter
Hamilton’s reputation rested on work done in the 1820s and early 1830s, when he was still in his twenties. He developed new mathematical tools for studying light rays (or “geometric optics”) and the motion of objects (“mechanics”).
Spin may resolve century-old puzzle of light’s momentum in matter
`In quantum physics, light is not just a wave—it also behaves like a particle, carrying energy and momentum. For more than a century, scientists have debated whether light’s momentum inside matter is larger or smaller than in empty space.
Different types of magic mushrooms use unique biochemical paths to produce the same active compound
Both Psilocybe mushrooms and fiber cap mushrooms of the genus Inocybe produce this substance, but use completely different enzymes and reaction sequences for this process.
First family statue of its kind discovered in ancient Egypt
It features a nobleman standing tall with his left foot forward—a stance typical of the Old Kingdom that represents youth, vitality, and strength.
The Ganges River is drying at an unprecedented rate, new study finds
The Ganges River is in crisis. This lifeline for around 600 million people in India and neighboring countries is experiencing its worst drying period in 1,300 years.
Scientists sidestep Heisenberg uncertainty principle in precision sensing experiment
The Heisenberg uncertainty principle, introduced in 1927, says that you can’t know certain pairs of properties—such as a particle’s position and momentum—with unlimited precision at the same time.
Million-year-old skull rewrites human evolution, scientists claim
A million-year-old human skull found in China suggests that our species, Homo sapiens, began to emerge at least half a million years earlier than we thought, researchers are claiming in a new study.
Fossil fuel burning poses threat to health of 1.6bn people, data shows
New interactive map tracking PM2.5 air pollution reveals 900m people in path of ‘super-emitting’ industrial facilities.
== Australian perspective but expect it applies worldwide
Facebook Data Reveal the Devastating Real-World Harms Caused By the Spread of Misinformation
With access to Meta’s Content Library, our big data study analysed more than three million posts from 25 Australian news publishers. We wanted to understand how content is distributed, how audiences engage with news topics, and the nature of misinformation spread.
Oceans dangerously acidic from carbon emissions, report warns
Planetary Health Check report says 7 of 9 ‘boundaries’ have now been crossed.
Sugar fingerprints offer faster, more reliable diagnoses for fungal infections
Hospitals worldwide face a growing problem with fungal infections, with an estimated 6 million cases and 3.8 million deaths each year.
How mosquito-borne viruses breach the brain’s defenses
Mosquito-borne viruses can cause more than fevers and joint pain. In severe cases, they invade the brain, leading to seizures, encephalitis, lasting memory loss and sometimes death.
Looking for an environmentally friendly drinking straw?
Light as a feather and seemingly ubiquitous, plastic drinking straws tip the scales as environmental villains—clogging landfills, choking marine life and lasting for years.
Using nanotechnology to target crop-munching pests and spare beneficial bugs
bane of farmers’ existence, it’s estimated that plant-eating pests are responsible for the loss of up to 40% of pre-harvest yields globally.
Solving the mystery of whether a Bolivian salt flat is the world’s largest natural mirror
The largest salt flat in the world is Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia, a popular tourist attraction due to its stunning mirror-like surface when covered with a thin layer of water.
Analysis links fat distribution to distinct brain aging patterns
Research finds that regional fat distribution exerts distinct effects on brain structure, connectivity and cognition, revealing patterns not explained by body mass index (BMI).
== yjc, fairly lengthy
Lord Woodbine: The forgotten sixth Beatle
Lord Woodbine taught the Fab Four the blues– but was written out of pop history
Scientists Predict Extreme Global Water Shortages by 2100
Climate change could leave 74% of the world’s drought-prone regions at high risk of severe and prolonged droughts by the end of the century, new research suggests.
An $800 Billion Revenue Shortfall Threatens AI Future
Artificial intelligence companies like OpenAI have been quick to unveil plans for spending hundreds of billions of dollars on data centres, but they have been slower to show how they will pull in revenue to cover all those expenses.
Tiny new lenses could transform phone and drone cameras
By stacking metamaterial layers instead of relying on a single one, the team overcame fundamental limits in focusing multiple wavelengths of light.
Microsoft claims a ‘breakthrough’ in AI chip cooling
It could be up to three times more effective than current methods.
== yjc
The thousand-year story of how the fork crossed Europe, and onto your plate today
In today’s world, we barely think about picking up a fork. But not that long ago, this now-ordinary utensil was viewed with suspicion, derision and even moral outrage.
Destroying asteroid 2024 YR4 could be the best option to stop it from hitting the moon
Asteroid 2024 YR4 no longer has a chance of hitting Earth, but it does have a 4% chance of hitting the moon in December 2032.
== have recently had article on this same subject and idea, but…
Webb discovers ‘The Cliff’ object that could solve red dot mystery
A new class of supermassive black holes embedded in a thick gas shell could explain small red dots in images from the James Webb Space Telescope.
Climate change is fast shrinking the world’s largest inland sea
Once a haven for flamingos, sturgeon and thousands of seals, fast-receding waters are turning the northern coast of the Caspian Sea into barren stretches of dry sand. In some places, the sea has retreated more than 50km.
Indoor surfaces can act as massive sponges for harmful chemicals
Scientists in the air chemistry research community have known for a long time that many indoor contaminants can be absorbed by indoor surfaces, but the size of indoor surface reservoirs inside homes and buildings had not been established.
Human activity has extended fire seasons across the world
New research shows that more than half of all burned area now happens outside the natural fire season, the period when lightning and dry conditions naturally coincide.
Rivers in the sky, Arctic warming, and what this means for the Greenland Ice Sheet
“Atmospheric rivers” are large-scale extreme weather systems that are making headlines more frequently. These weather systems have the potential to bring high heat and dump disastrous amounts of precipitation on areas throughout the mid and high latitudes.
Ice dissolves iron faster than liquid water, offering explanation for Arctic’s rusty rivers
The study shows that ice at minus 10 degrees Celsius releases more iron from common minerals than liquid water at 4 degrees Celsius.
Heat waves in US rivers increasing up to four times faster than air heat waves, analysis finds
As the frequency and intensity of heat waves increase across the U.S., a similar but more striking phenomenon is occurring in American rivers.
The gravitino: A new candidate for dark matter
Several years ago, in a theory unifying particle physics and gravity, new, radically different dark matter candidates were proposed: superheavy charged gravitinos.
Zebra finches organize their calls by meaning, not just on how they sound
Scientists already knew that zebra finches produce around 11 different types of calls (ethogram-based, or Etho calls) to communicate things like hunger and danger.
Reversing Antarctic sea ice loss depends on ocean layering, study finds
Satellite observations have documented a pronounced decline in Antarctic sea ice extent since 2014, with especially sharp losses in recent years.
The fast, fuel-efficient European helicopter setting the pace for clean aviation
This high-speed, low-emission rotorcraft is redefining helicopter flight by blending the speed of an airplane with the agility of a rotorcraft.
Chandra finds black hole that’s growing at 2.4 times the Eddington limit
The black hole weighs about a billion times the mass of the sun and is located about 12.8 billion light-years from Earth, meaning that astronomers are seeing it only 920 million years after the universe began.
A volcano or a meteorite? New evidence sheds light on puzzling discovery in Greenland’s ice sheet
Buried deep in Greenland’s ice sheet lies a puzzling chemical signature that has sparked intense scientific debate. A sharp spike in platinum concentrations, discovered in an ice core and dated to around 12,800 years ago.
Novel hydrothermal system links two seabed phenomena
During researchers expedition aboard the research vessel SONNE, they came across the “Karambusel” field, where hydrothermal vents and methane seeps occur immediately adjacent to one another.
==yjc, at one time was going to include an article on this research, don’t think I did, but…
2025 Ig Nobel Physics Prize goes to perfect pasta sauce
The Ig Nobel Prize honors research that first makes people laugh, then makes them think. Its 35th award ceremony possibly also makes people hungry.
== and another
Does painting cows with stripes prevent fly bites? Researchers who studied this wins Ig Nobel prize
A team of researchers from Japan wondered if painting cows with zebra-like stripes would prevent flies from biting them. Another group from Africa and Europe pondered the types of pizza lizards preferred to eat.
Bird-like robot with novel wing system achieves self-takeoff and low-speed flight
Researchers have designed the RoboFalcon 2.0, which incorporates an 800 g body and reconfigurable mechanisms in the wings to couple flapping, sweeping, and folding in one wingbeat.
The Moon is Rusting - Thanks To ‘Wind’ Blown All the Way From Earth
Lunar minerals generate the rust mineral haematite when bombarded with high-energy oxygen particles, experiments show.
== yjc
China Road Trip Exposes List of Uninvestable Assets in the West
Venture capitalists in clean tech are starting to say out loud what they’ve suspected for a while: China’s dominance has left key sectors in the West uninvestable.
More Durable UV Coating For Solar Panels Made From Red Onion Skins
Natural dye from discarded onion peels outperforms fossil-based UV filters in durability and performance
== yjc
America’s Space Force is Preparing for a New Kind of War
The goal was to disguise the strike as a garbled connection that could be easily remedied by securing a loose cable or a simple reboot.
== have seen something on this before
Doomed ‘Cannibal’ Star Could Explode In a Supernova Visible During Day
V Sagittae is no ordinary star system - it’s the brightest of its kind and has baffled experts since it was first discovered in 1902.
== yjc
There Isn’t an AI Bubble - There Are Three
AI is almost certainly in what economists call an asset bubble or a speculative bubble. As the name suggests, this is when asset prices soar well above their fundamental value.
Study Links Microplastic Exposure to Alzheimer’s Disease in Mice
Micro- and nanoplastics prevalent in the environment routinely enter the human body through water we drink, foods we eat, and even the air we breathe. Those plastic particles infiltrate all systems of the body, including the brain.
== yjc
Africa’s Only Internet Cable Repair Ship Keeps the Continent Online
The crew find purpose in their mission, but it comes at great personal cost.
The only thing more dangerous than knowing too little is knowing too little without understanding just how little that is.
Andrew Ng of DeepLearning.AI