Physics
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Life
Earwigs take origami to extremes to fold their wings
Stretchy joints let earwig wings flip quickly between folded and unfurled.
- Physics
STEVE the aurora makes its debut in mauve
A newly discovered type of aurora is a visible version of usually invisible charged particles drifting in the upper atmosphere.
- Plants
Liverwort reproductive organ inspires pipette design
A new pipette is inspired by a plant’s female reproductive structure.
- Cosmology
Renowned physicist Stephen Hawking dies at 76
Beyond his research contributions, Stephen Hawking popularized black holes and the deep questions of the cosmos.
- Quantum Physics
Superconductors may shed light on the black hole information paradox
Materials that conduct electricity without resistance might mimic black hole physics.
- Neuroscience
Readers muse about memory, magnetic monopoles and more
Readers had questions about the physical trace of memory, magnetic monopoles, blowflies and more.
- Physics
Give double-layer graphene a twist and it superconducts
When graphene layers are twisted to a “magic angle,” the material superconducts.
- Astronomy
50 years ago, pulsars burst onto the scene
Thousands of pulsars have been discovered since the announcement of their detection 50 years ago.
- Physics
Some meteorites contain superconducting bits
Scientists find materials that conduct electricity without resistance in two meteorites.
- Quantum Physics
Google moves toward quantum supremacy with 72-qubit computer
Google’s 72-qubit quantum chip may eventually perform a task beyond the ability of traditional computers.
- Physics
Knotted structures called skyrmions seem to mimic ball lightning
Skyrmions in a quantum state of matter have something surprising in common with ball lightning — linked magnetic fields.
- Chemistry
Extreme cold is no match for a new battery
A rechargeable battery that works at –70° C could be used in some of the coldest places on Earth or other planets.
