How to design a sail that won’t tear or melt on an interstellar voyage

Breakthrough Starshot plans to send microscopic probes to Alpha Centauri using lightsails. Previous conceptions of these…

New study illuminates how tiny flies solve complex navigational challenges

The Gnat Ogre is a tiny predator that grabs other insects out of the air, catching…

Recently identified protein group plays major role in nature

Proteins are the ‘workhorses’ in every living cell and constitute the chemical basis of life. These…

SARS-CoV-2 protein targeted by immune cells also triggers response in bat coronaviruses, study shows

A future vaccine providing protection against a wide range of coronaviruses that jump from their original…

How politics, society, and tech shape the path of climate change

Public perceptions of climate change, the future cost and effectiveness of climate mitigation and technologies, and…

Multiple sclerosis: Study with twins untangles environmental and genetic influences

Researchers have studied the immune system of pairs of monozygotic twins to identify the influence of…

Sudden evolutionary change

Researchers have identified a case of a sudden evolutionary change. In a new study, the scientists…

Atomic clocks measure Einstein's general relativity at millimeter scale

Physicists have measured Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity, or more specifically, the effect called time…

Ultraprecise atomic clock poised for new physics discoveries

Physicists have made one of the highest performance atomic clocks ever. ­­ Their instrument, known as…

Supermassive black hole caught hiding in a ring of cosmic dust

The European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope Interferometer (ESO’s VLTI) has observed a cloud of cosmic…