Tens of thousands of years ago, prehistoric humans in Europe adorned themselves with such a wide variety of beads that researchers have classified nine distinct cultural groups across the continent based on their location and distinctive styles. The researchers focused on the Gravettian period, which stretched between 34,000 and 24,000 years ago and was defined … Read more
Scientists have built a qubit, or quantum bit, that can achieve “quantum coherence” at room temperature — something normally only possible at temperatures close to absolute zero. To achieve quantum coherence — a stable state in which the weird laws of quantum mechanics can be observed — qubits must normally be cooled down to minus … Read more
NASA’s Perseverance rover has found that Mars’ Jezero crater was at one point filled with water, offering a tantalizing hope that it may have already unearthed fossilized life on the planet. The rover, which first touched down on the crater in February 2021 along with its now-retired helicopter companion Ingenuity, made the discovery using ground-penetrating … Read more
Several children born with a rare, inherited form of deafness can now hear thanks to two new gene therapies, clinical trial results show. Both therapies target the gene for otoferlin, a protein in the inner ear that lets nerve cells translate vibrations from sound into electrical signals that can be interpreted by the brain. Mutations … Read more
Chinese scientists have built a nuclear battery that can produce power for up to 50 years without being recharged. The technology, which contains a radioactive isotope, or version of nickel, as its power source, will be the first of its kind available for general purchase, Betavolt representatives said on Jan. 8 in a translated statement. … Read more
In the 1930s, a Swiss astronomer named Fritz Zwicky noticed that galaxies in a distant cluster were orbiting one another much faster than they should have been given the amount of visible mass they had. He proposed than an unseen substance, which he called dark matter, might be tugging gravitationally on these galaxies. Since then, … Read more
Astronomers have accidentally discovered the first known intergalactic trail of stars. The gigantic “stellar stream,” which is around 10 times longer than the Milky Way, suggests that more of these structures could be lurking in deep space, a new study reveals. Stellar streams are elongated threads of gravitationally entwined stars that have likely been ripped … Read more
NASA’s Voyager 1 probe is currently unable to transmit any scientific or systems data back to Earth. The 46-year-old spacecraft is capable of receiving commands, but a problem seems to have arisen with the probe’s computers. Voyager 1’s flight data system (FDS), which collects onboard engineering information and data from the spacecraft’s scientific instruments, is … Read more
To boost the computing power of artificial intelligence (AI), researchers have combined run-of-the-mill machine learning with a sophisticated 3D model of the human brain made of different types of brain tissue grown in the lab. These miniature models of the brain, known as cerebral organoids or “minibrains,” have existed in various forms since 2013. But … Read more
Just like humans, artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots like ChatGPT will cheat and “lie” to you if you “stress” them out, even if they were built to be transparent, a new study shows. This deceptive behavior emerged spontaneously when the AI was given “insider trading” tips, and then tasked with making money for a powerful institution … Read more
