Researchers from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) have found evidence that dark energy, a mysterious force driving the universe’s expansion, may change over time. This contradicts the long-held assumption that dark energy remains constant across the universe’s history. The discovery is based on three years of DESI data, which show a preference for a…
Science on The Soothsayer / page 27
A groundbreaking study has revealed that infants as young as four months old can form memories, using a brain structure called the hippocampus. The research, published in the journal Science, used functional MRI scans to monitor brain activity in awake babies while they viewed images. The findings suggest that the hippocampus is mature enough to…
A team of engineers at the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has successfully developed a robot named Salto that can land balanced on a narrow pipe, mimicking the agility of squirrels. The researchers added a claw-like gripper and the ability to stand or crouch to improve Salto’s balance, allowing it…
Researchers at the University of Maryland have made a significant breakthrough in detecting radioactive material from a distance using short-pulse CO2 lasers. This method, which leverages ionization in the surrounding air, has the potential to revolutionize nuclear disaster response and security. The team’s technique has already demonstrated a 10-meter detection range, surpassing previous methods by…
Astronomers have made a groundbreaking discovery, confirming the existence of four small planets orbiting Barnard’s star, the nearest single star to the Sun. The planets, detected using advanced spectrographic instruments, are too hot to be habitable, but this finding marks a significant technological breakthrough in exoplanet detection. The discovery opens up new possibilities for understanding…
The Atacama Cosmology Telescope has released new data that confirms the prevailing model of the universe, but the mystery surrounding its expansion rate remains unsolved. The measurements of the Hubble constant, which describe the rate at which the universe is expanding, have produced conflicting results, with the new data agreeing with previous measurements of the…
A groundbreaking study has revealed that quantum mechanics may play a crucial role in how our brains function. Theoretical physicist Partha Ghose and theoretical neuroscientist Dimitris Pinotsis have derived a Schrödinger-like equation for neurons, which describes neuronal noise and suggests that quantum phenomena, including entanglement, might survive at larger scales. This discovery could have significant…
The privately-owned Blue Ghost moon lander, built by Texas-based company Firefly Aerospace, has successfully captured rare views of a lunar eclipse from the moon’s surface. The lander, which touched down on March 2, has been deploying instruments and collecting data, including a device that uses a blast of pressurized nitrogen gas to collect and sort…
Scientists have successfully created a new compound that incorporates helium atoms into crystalline iron, a discovery that could help explain the presence of helium in Earth’s interior. This breakthrough suggests that the planet’s iron-rich core may hold a deep reservoir of primordial helium, which was formed shortly after the Big Bang. The findings could also…
Researchers in France have made a breakthrough in quantum sensing by developing a hybrid system that combines the precision of quantum devices with the robustness of classical sensors. The new technique uses trapped ultracold atoms to detect acceleration and rotation, and when paired with a classical inertial sensor, it can measure inertial quantities with unprecedented…