Tech

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.

Tech

The first artificial material that follows sunlight may upgrade solar panels

Rows of tiny stemlike rods called SunBOTs orient themselves toward light, optimizing the solar energy that they can harvest.

Tech

Here’s what it will take to adapt the power grid to higher wildfire risks

Better sensing tech on power lines and reliance on more local power sources could help avoid vast power outages like those in California in October.

Science & Society

Bias in a common health care algorithm disproportionately hurts black patients

A machine-learning program that uses past medical costs to identify patients for extra care favors white patients over black patients, a study finds.