Caltech scientists have found a fast and efficient way to add up large numbers of Feynman diagrams, the simple drawings physicists use to represent particle interactions. The new method has already enabled the researchers to solve a longstanding problem in the materials science and physics worlds known as the polaron problem, giving scientists and engineers…
Researchers have demonstrated a new technique that allows “self-driving laboratories” to collect at least 10 times more data than previous techniques at record speed. The advance – which is published in Nature Chemical Engineering – dramatically expedites materials discovery research, while slashing costs and environmental impact. Self-driving laboratories are robotic platforms that combine machine learning…
While humans can regularly replace certain cells, like those in our blood and gut, we cannot naturally regrow most other parts of the body. For example, when the tiny sensory hair cells in our inner ears are damaged, the result is often permanent hearing loss, deafness, or balance problems. In contrast, animals like fish, frogs,…
A new weekly injectable drug could transform the lives of more than eight million people living with Parkinson’s disease, potentially replacing the need for multiple daily tablets. Scientists from the University of South Australia (UniSA) have developed a long-acting injectable formulation that delivers a steady dose of levodopa and carbidopa – two key medications for…
Illustration of merging of black holes Shutterstock / Jurik Peter A record-breaking black hole smash-up just expanded our view of the universe’s most extreme inhabitants. Since the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) started detecting gravitational waves – ripples in the fabric of physical reality – 10 years ago, it has captured nearly 100 collisions between…
Geoff Maskell BBC News NI weather presenter BBC Armagh Observatory holds weather records dating back to 1795 Armagh Observatory is marking a very special meteorological milestone as the institute celebrates 230 years of continuous weather observation. The unbroken tradition of handwritten data makes it the longest sequence of continuous weather information gathered anywhere in the…
PA Media Many parts of the UK are in the throes of their third heatwave The UK is breaking heat and rainfall records increasingly frequently as its climate continues to warm, the Met Office has warned. The country’s changing weather patterns mean the UK now experiences a “notably different” climate to what it was just…
A 2.35-billion-year-old meteorite with a unique chemical signature, found in Africa in 2023, plugs a major gap in our understanding of the Moon’s volcanic history. Findings from analyses of the Northwest Africa 16286 meteorite, presented at the Goldschmidt Conference in Prague, offer fresh insights into how the Moon’s interior evolved, highlighting the long-lived nature of its volcanic…
A new kind of cosmic object could help solve one of the universe’s greatest mysteries: dark matter. Particle Astrophysicists have proposed the existence of a strange new type of star-like object, called a ‘dark dwarf’, which may be quietly glowing in the center of our galaxy. Far from being dark in appearance, these unusual objects…
When the first Neanderthal bones were uncovered in 1856, they sparked a flood of questions about these mysterious ancient humans. Were they similar to us or fundamentally different? Did our ancestors cooperate with them, clash with them, or even form relationships? The discovery of the Denisovans, a group closely related to Neanderthals that once lived…
