Physics
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Materials Science
Salt can turn frozen water into a weak power source
Experiments reveal that when slabs of salty ice are strained, electricity is generated, though practical uses are still a long way off.
- Physics
Scientists made a biological quantum bit out of a fluorescent protein
Researchers could use quantum effects to develop new types of medical imaging inside cells themselves.
- Physics
A ‘ringing’ black hole matches scientists’ predictions
Gravitational waves emitted after two black holes coalesced agree with theories from physicists Stephen Hawking and Roy Kerr.
- Particle Physics
This laser would shoot beams of neutrinos, not light
The subatomic particles called neutrinos are famously elusive. But an unconventional trick could make a laser beam of the aloof particles.
- Animals
Frilly bug feet inspire a water-striding robot
Ripple bugs’ nimble movements on the surface of water inspired a robot with automatically unfurling fans on its feet.
- Space
Astronauts need oxygen. Magnets could help
Adding a magnet could simplify the process of producing oxygen in space, making a crewed mission to Mars more feasible.
- Physics
Sunlight is all that’s needed to keep these tiny aircraft aloft
Sun-powered fliers could use photophoretic forces to hover in the mesosphere, gathering data from a region off limits to planes and balloons.
- Materials Science
Scientists re-create a legendary golden fabric from clam waste
Sea silk, once spun from endangered clams, may make a comeback — thanks to discarded fibers from a farmed species. The find could sustainably revive a fading art.
- Quantum Physics
A quantum computer goes to space
Quantum computers in space could be useful for communications networks or for testing fundamental physics.
- Health & Medicine
An injected gel could make drugs like Ozempic last longer
GLP-1 drugs for diabetes and weight loss are difficult for some people to inject weekly. A new slow-release gel, tested in rats, could help.
- Space
The biggest black hole smashup ever detected challenges physics theories
Gravitational waves spotted by LIGO reveal two black holes, 140 and 100 times the mass of the sun, merged to become a 225 solar mass behemoth.
- Physics
Scientists 3-D printed a tiny elephant inside a cell
The first structures ever 3-D printed inside living cells point to applications for biology research.
