Tech
- Tech
The U.S. power grid desperately needs upgrades to handle climate change
The climate is changing faster than the U.S. power grid is adapting. Smarter grids and smaller grids could help.
- Physics
A quantum strategy could verify the solutions to unsolvable problems — in theory
A quantum technique for verifying solutions to difficult problems could apply to an “unbelievably huge” class of puzzles.
- Archaeology
A 3-D printed vocal tract lets an ancient mummy speak from beyond the grave
A re-created version of a mummy’s vocal tract reveals what this ancient Egyptian might have sounded like.
- Life
‘PigeonBot’ is the first robot that can bend its wings like a real bird
Insights into the joint movements and feather surface structures that help birds control their wing shape could help robotic flyers move more deftly.
- Quantum Physics
Google claimed quantum supremacy in 2019 — and sparked controversy
Google’s quantum computer outperformed the most powerful supercomputer on a task, the company reported. But some scientists aren’t fully convinced.
- Space
China stuck its moon landing this year. Others weren’t as lucky
Fifty years after Apollo 11 landed on the moon, Earth’s sidekick is getting renewed attention from space agencies around the world.
- Space
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx must avoid ‘Mount Doom’ to return a sample of the asteroid Bennu
The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft finally has a target spot for sample collection, called Nightingale, on the asteroid Bennu.
- Space
NASA’s Parker probe has spotted the Geminid meteor showers’ source
For the first time, we’ve spotted the trail of space debris responsible for the Geminid meteor shower.
- Archaeology
An AI found a hidden Nazca Line in Peru showing a humanoid figure
An artificial intelligence program designed to go through massive datasets for hints of ancient geoglyphs called Nazca Lines has discovered a new one.
- Tech
A tiny switch could redirect light between computer chips in mere nanoseconds
Microscopic switches that ferry information using light, not electric current, could help create better, faster electronics.
- Artificial Intelligence
A will to survive might take AI to the next level
Neuroscientists argue that the biological principle of homeostasis will lead to improved, “feeling” robots.
- Physics
Trapping atoms in a laser beam offers a new way to measure gravity
A new type of experiment to measure the strength of Earth’s gravity uses atoms suspended in light rather than free-falling atoms.
