– credit Alexandre Debiève By instantaneously heating electronics to 3,000°C via an electrical current, scientists have found a way to extract decent grades of precious metals without creating hazardous waste. According to their analysis, relying on e-waste for a precious metals supply could be 13-times cheaper than mining them from the ground. However, previous methods … Read more
– credit Fujikawa et al. with background / SWNS If a physician needs to see what’s gone wrong inside a human body, it’s easy enough to order an ultrasound scan. But if the structural engineer wants to do the same in a block of concrete, his options are of limited effectiveness. The range of materials … Read more
Artist’s concept of exoplanet candidate HD 137010 b – credit, NASA/JPL-Caltech/Keith Miller (Caltech/IPAC) In a story that proves you don’t have to be a star to find a star, astronomers are excited to train the next generation of telescopes at an Earth-like exoplanet discovered by a citizen scientist. Alexander Venner, currently studying studying at the … Read more
Disease trajectory – credit, Salk Institute, released Not all diseases are caused nutrient deficiencies, but they often do come with one. A deficiency of vitamin D, for example, is found most cases of illness, from cancer to upper-respiratory tract infections to sepsis and osteoporosis. Recently, researchers at the renowned Salk institute for Biological Studies have … Read more
The Helix Nebula interior ring – credit, NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI; Image Processing Alyssa Pagan (STScI) In a new image taken by the James Webb Space Telescope, the dying breaths of the star at the heart of the famous Helix Nebula are exposed in wonder and radiance. Imaged many times by previous space telescopes, including … Read more
House Finch – Credit: James Tornetta via Cornell Lab of Ornithology / Macaulay Library Do you love bluebirds, finches, and chickadees? Why not count birds in your community with your kids and friends during the Great Backyard Bird Count in 2026. Our mental health is nurtured by nature—and it will take under an hour to … Read more
From a return of humans to Lunar orbit, to Japan’s first crack at Mars, the trend of humans spending more and more time and money on and in space is set to continue in 2026. Here are a few of the events to look forward to. An artist interpretation of the Orion capsule – credit … Read more
Ptilotus senarius, a relative of Mulla Mulla – by Aaron Bean / iNaturalist A plant-lover who snapped a photo of an interesting shrub he found on a trip to the Outback inadvertently proved that it wasn’t, in fact, extinct, something which scientists had presumed. With 60 years having passed without a confirmed sighting of the … Read more
– Credit: National Center for Wildlife – Saudi Arabia Between 2022 and 2023, scientists in Saudi Arabia began a survey of over 1,000 caves, hoping to find preserved remains of ancient animals to infer modern rewilding strategies. Whatever modest results they might have allowed themselves to hope for, they almost certainly would not have expected … Read more
The Vanch-Yakh Glacier in 1992 – credit CC 4.0. BY-SA Jaan Kunnap Over the decades, a glacier in Central Asia appears to have been growing when almost every other glacier on Earth has been shrinking. Now, a scientific expedition has recovered ice cores containing 30,000 years of frozen water in the hopes that somewhere inside … Read more