Physics

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We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.

  1. Space

    A near-Earth asteroid offers clues to one dark matter theory 

    Data from the OSIRIS-REx mission to Bennu place a ceiling on the strength of a hypothetical fifth force that could explain dark matter’s origins.

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  2. Tech

    Tech companies want small nuclear reactors. Here’s how they’d work 

    To fuel AI’s insatiable energy appetite, tech companies are going big on small nuclear reactors.

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  3. Physics

    Radioactive beams give a real-time view of cancer treatment in mice

    This first successful treatment of tumors with radioactive ion beams could one day lead to treating human patients’ tumors with millimeter precision.

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  4. Health & Medicine

    New electrical stitches use muscle movement to speed up healing

    In rats, the sutures hastened recovery and reduced the risk of infection.

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  5. Artificial Intelligence

    The discovery of tools key to machine learning wins the 2024 physics Nobel

    John Hopfield and Geoffrey Hinton used tools from physics to develop data analysis methods that underlie machine learning.

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  6. Physics

    Thunderstorms churn up a ‘boiling pot’ of gamma rays 

    A thunderstorm seen in gamma-ray vision is a complex, frenetic lightshow when viewed from above the clouds.

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  7. Particle Physics

    Physicists just discovered the rarest particle decay ever

    The “golden channel” decay of subatomic particles called kaons could break or confirm the standard model of particle physics.

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  8. Physics

    X-rays from nuclear blasts could defend Earth from asteroids

    The X-ray pulses could deflect asteroids up to 4 kilometers wide, a new study suggests.

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  9. Computing

    This engineer’s light-based computers take inspiration from the brain

    Physicist and engineer Bhavin Shastri is working to create the first photonic computer modeled after the human brain.

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  10. Quantum Physics

    Why this physicist is bringing thermodynamics to the quantum age

    Like a steampunk fantasy-world, which pairs high-tech with an old-timey setting, Nicole Yunger Halpern melds old and new science.

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  11. Life

    This biophysicist’s work could one day let doctors control immune cells

    The Stanford biophysicist thinks that understanding the mechanics of cell movement could allow scientists to manipulate immune cells.

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  12. Materials Science

    A materials scientist seeks to extract lithium from untapped sources

    Lithium is an essential ingredient for batteries in electric vehicles but getting enough will become a problem.

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