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Researchers have identified a previously unknown bacterial protein, the structure of which is being used in the design of protein nanoparticles for the targeted delivery of anticancer drugs to tumors.

A combination of cosmic processes shapes the formation of one of the most common types of planets outside of our solar system, according to a new study.

A new analysis of 105-year-old data on the effectiveness of 'dazzle' camouflage on battleships in World War I has found that while dazzle had some effect, the 'horizon effect' had far more influence when it came to confusing the enemy.

Until now, a global evaluation of ocean current energy with actual data was lacking. Using 30 years of NOAA's Global Drifter Program data, a study shows that ocean currents off Florida's East Coast and South Africa have exceptionally high-power densities, ideal for electricity generation. With densities over 2,500 watts per square meter, these regions are 2.5 times more energy-dense than 'excellent' wind resources. Shallow waters further enhance the potential for ocean current turbines, unlike areas like Japan and South America, which have lower densities at similar depths.

Researchers have developed a powerful AI tool, built on the same transformer architecture used by large language models like ChatGPT, to process an entire night's sleep. To date, it is one of the largest studies, analyzing 1,011,192 hours of sleep. The model, called patch foundational transformer for sleep (PFTSleep), analyzes brain waves, muscle activity, heart rate, and breathing patterns to classify sleep stages more effectively than traditional methods, streamlining sleep analysis, reducing variability, and supporting future clinical tools to detect sleep disorders and other health risks.

The James Webb Space Telescope has captured its first direct images of carbon dioxide in a planet outside the solar system in HR 8799, a multiplanet system 130 light-years away that has long been a key target for planet formation studies.

New modeling indicates the main belt asteroid (52246) Donaldjohanson may have formed about 150 million years ago when a larger parent asteroid broke apart; its orbit and spin properties have undergone significant evolution since. When NASA's Lucy spacecraft flies by this approximately three-mile-wide space rock on April 20, 2025, the data collected could provide independent insights on such processes based on its shape, surface geology and cratering history.

When exposed to high temperatures and pressure, water enters a state in which liquid and gas can no longer be distinguished. For a long time, there has been controversy about how this looks like on a molecular level.

Engineers developed a method to grow artificial muscle tissue that twitches and flexes in multiple, coordinated directions. These tissues could be useful for building 'biohybrid' robots powered by soft, artificially grown muscle fibers.

Engineers developed a method to grow artificial muscle tissue that twitches and flexes in multiple, coordinated directions. These tissues could be useful for building 'biohybrid' robots powered by soft, artificially grown muscle fibers.

Scientists have developed a single-cell green microalgae coated with magnetic material. This miniature robot was put to the test: would the microalgae with its magnetic coating be able to swim through narrow spaces and, additionally, in a viscous fluid that mimics those found in the human body? Would the tiny robot be able to fight its way through these difficult conditions?

Scientists have developed a single-cell green microalgae coated with magnetic material. This miniature robot was put to the test: would the microalgae with its magnetic coating be able to swim through narrow spaces and, additionally, in a viscous fluid that mimics those found in the human body? Would the tiny robot be able to fight its way through these difficult conditions?

Researchers show that precisely layering nano-thin materials creates excitons -- essentially, artificial atoms -- that can act as quantum information bits, or qubits.

Researchers show that precisely layering nano-thin materials creates excitons -- essentially, artificial atoms -- that can act as quantum information bits, or qubits.

Helium-3 (He-3) on the Moon's surface has drawn attention for decades. In 1939, a paper first noted the presence of Helium-3 on the Moon. Still, it really came into the collective consciousness of space resource enthusiasts during the 1980s when they realized just how valuable a resource it was and how much the Moon had of it. Now, a new paper from a company called Interlune, a relatively new start-up based out of Seattle, presented a paper at the recent Lunar and Planetary Science Conference that discusses plans to try to mine some of that wealth of material economically.

Even tipped over onto its side, the Odysseus Lunar Lander was able to do some science. Though a broken leg means it's doomed to spend eternity in an awkward position, its solar panels were able to gather some energy. Enough for its radiotelescope to take observations for about 80 minutes.

We are so familiar with our solar system that we often presume it is generally how star systems are built. Four little planets close to the star, four large gas planets farther away, and all with roughly circular orbits. But as we have found ever more exoplanets, we've come to understand just how unusual the solar system is. Large planets often orbit close to their star, small planets are much more common than larger ones, and as a new study shows, orbits aren't always circular.

Here’s the latest news/comedy bit from Bill Maher’s Real Time, this one called “America’s Whore Complex.” It’s about the sudden honoring of sex workers, which I suspect derives from the movie “Anora”, featuring a stripper/prostitute played by Mikey Madison). Maher is discombobulated with the change of the word from “prostitute” to “sex worker,” and observes that the fancier word has become a liberal euphemism.  Maher also notes that 41 American actresses were nominated for Oscars for playing sex workers (they’re all shown in photos).

Maher, however, concludes that the word “sex workers” should revert to the old word “whore”, because the virtue-signaling of the former word does “harm to the cause” by sounding “too benign.” His thesis: that often the job is not voluntary, mentioning Andrew Tate, who’s been accused of forcing women into sex work (Maher criticizes Republicans for remaining silent about those activities because Tate’s a Republican).

It’s not one of his best bits. It’s okay, but I was surprised to learn that there have been over forty Oscar nominations for women playing sex workers/prostitutes/whores.

NASA’s InSight lander recorded surprisingly large quakes that indicate Mars is more seismically active than we first thought. Mysteriously, they only happen during Martian summers

Analysing the aftermath of particle collisions has revealed two new instances of “CP violation”, a process that explains why our universe contains more matter than antimatter