Human technology such as cell phones and broadcast towers constantly radiate radio waves ROOMand astronomers estimate that this telltale sign of humanity has been included 75 nearby star systems, signaling to any alert alien civilization that Earth hosts a technologically advanced species. And while scientists have been listening to the incessant radio chatter from our … Read more
Humanity has lost an interstellar pioneer. Ed Stone, who served as project scientist for NASA’s groundbreaking Voyager mission from 1972 to 2022, died on Sunday (June 9) at the age of 88. “Ed Stone was a pioneer who dared great things in space. He was a dear friend to all who knew him and a … Read more
Laura Schulz has spent her career trying to unravel one of the deepest human mysteries: how children think and learn. Earlier this year, the MIT cognitive psychologist found herself perplexed by the struggles of her latest test subject. The study participant amazed him by having a fresh conversation, deftly explaining complex concepts. A series of … Read more
Archival optical image (at 468 nm wavelength) of NGC 5128 taken with the UK Schmidt telescope superimposed on the location of the two fields studied. The red cross indicates the center of NGC 5128. The red circles represent the locations of LPVs selected from the ISAAC Ks-band data. Credit: Aghdam et al., 2024. Using the … Read more
Summary: Mental maps in the brain are activated when we think about sequences of experiences, even without physical movement. In an animal study, they found that the entorhinal cortex contains a cognitive map of experiences, which is activated during mental simulation. This is the first study to show the cellular basis of mental simulation in … Read more
An illustration of electron-phonon coupling between valence and conduction states in real-time and real-space. Credit: Cmelni/Wikimedia Commons. commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Electron_Phonon_Coupling_Between_Valence_and_Conduction_States.png. A new study published in Nature Physics presents a theory of electron-phonon coupling that is influenced by the quantum geometry of electronic wave functions. The movement of electrons in a lattice and their interactions with lattice vibrations … Read more
While standing on planet Earth, it’s easy to forget that we’re sitting on a rock hurtling through the Solar System on a path that might collide with other (smaller) space rocks, mostly because we can’t feel that motion. If you ever feel like putting yourself completely at the mercy of random space rocks, we recommend … Read more
The consequences of a thermonuclear explosion in a binary star system about 3,400 light years away has been witnessed by Hubble Space Telescope. HM Sagittae, or HM Sge for short, is what is known as a symbiotic system, in which a white dwarf is eating with a friend red giant star The stolen material forms … Read more
Astronomers expect a “new star” to appear in the night sky anytime between now and September in a celestial event that has been years in the making, according to NASA. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime event that will create a lot of young astronomers out there, giving young people a cosmic event they can observe for themselves, … Read more
Every fall, a narrow pass in the Pyrenees mountain range between southern France and northeastern Spain is flooded with a torrential stream of marmalade butterflies, pollinators with citrus-colored bodies and black stripes. The hoverflies avoid harsh mountain winds by flying close to the ground, making the sunlit streams look “almost like a river of golden … Read more