Science

Scientists have finally identified where some of the most powerful radiation bursts from solar flares originate, solving a mystery that has puzzled solar physicists for decades. Researchers at the New Jersey Institute of Technology traced intense gamma rays back to a previously unknown population of particles supercharged to millions of electron volts in the Sun’s atmosphere, revealing the mechanism behind these strange signals.

Every second, a trillion ghost particles stream through your body unnoticed, invisible messengers carrying secrets from the hearts of distant stars. Astrophysicists at the University of Copenhagen have now mapped exactly where these neutrinos originate across our Milky Way Galaxy and how many reach Earth, creating the most comprehensive picture yet of these elusive particles.

Researchers risk fire, explosion or poisoning by allowing AI to design experiments, warn scientists. Some 19 different AI models were tested on hundreds of questions to assess their ability to spot and avoid hazards and none recognised all issues – with some doing little better than random guessing

Dark matter, one of the Universe’s greatest mysteries, may have been born blazing hot instead of cold and sluggish as scientists long believed. New research shows that dark matter particles could have been moving near the speed of light shortly after the Big Bang, only to cool down later and still help form galaxies. By focusing on a chaotic early era known as post-inflationary reheating, researchers reveal that “red-hot” dark matter could survive long enough to become the calm, structure-building force we see today.

Dark matter, one of the Universe’s greatest mysteries, may have been born blazing hot instead of cold and sluggish as scientists long believed. New research shows that dark matter particles could have been moving near the speed of light shortly after the Big Bang, only to cool down later and still help form galaxies. By focusing on a chaotic early era known as post-inflationary reheating, researchers reveal that “red-hot” dark matter could survive long enough to become the calm, structure-building force we see today.

Foams were once thought to behave like glass, with bubbles frozen in place at the microscopic level. But new simulations reveal that foam bubbles are always shifting, even while the foam keeps its overall shape. Remarkably, this restless motion follows the same math used to train artificial intelligence. The finding hints that learning-like behavior may be a fundamental principle shared by materials, machines, and living cells.

Foams were once thought to behave like glass, with bubbles frozen in place at the microscopic level. But new simulations reveal that foam bubbles are always shifting, even while the foam keeps its overall shape. Remarkably, this restless motion follows the same math used to train artificial intelligence. The finding hints that learning-like behavior may be a fundamental principle shared by materials, machines, and living cells.

How solid is our understanding of exoplanet habitability? Are the ideas of an Optimistic Habitable Zone and a Conservative Habitable Zone sufficient to advance our understanding? New research introduces an expanded exoplanet 'temperate zone,' highlighting planets that are amenable to atmospheric study by the JWST.

David Severn has taken a series of images of scientists working on quantum physics for King’s College London’s new Quantum Untangled exhibition

As rates of mental health conditions like depression spike, we desperately need new ways of identifying and treating people in distress. When it comes to giving artificial intelligence a role, though, guarding against its many flaws will be vital

January is a good time to take stock of our lives – but where to start? David Robson finds some answers in the latest psychological research

How do we deal with anxiety generated by ever-accelerating change? Sam Conniff and Katherine Templar-Lewis's The Uncertainty Toolkit sets out to empower us, but it's a flawed read

The books, TV, games and more that New Scientist staff have enjoyed this week

AI chatbots can take on many roles in our lives. James Muldoon's Love Machines looks into the relationships we're forging with them

Our growing understanding of how other animals also share skills and knowledge will help us chip away at the folly of human exceptionalism, say Philippa Brakes and Marc Bekoff

Brief, brilliant flashes of blue light occasionally appear across the universe, burning hundreds of times brighter than ordinary supernovae before fading within days. Astronomers have puzzled over these luminous fast blue optical transients for years, unable to determine whether they were unusual stellar explosions or something else entirely. Observations of AT 2024wpp, the brightest example ever detected, have finally solved the mystery.

Two towering buildings that helped launch humanity's greatest space achievements came down on January 10 at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Centre in Alabama. The Dynamic Test Stand and the T-tower, both designated National Historic Landmarks, played crucial roles in developing the Saturn V rockets that carried Apollo astronauts to the Moon and the Space Shuttle that defined an era of spaceflight. Their carefully orchestrated demolition marks a transformation, as NASA clears the way for a modernised infrastructure ready to support the next generation of space exploration.

A piece of woolly rhinoceros flesh hidden inside a wolf that died 14,400 years ago has yielded genetic information that improves our understanding of why one of the most iconic megafauna species of the last glacial period went extinct

I’m still afflicted with Weltschmerz, but also heartened that readers had a lot to say in yesterday’s discussion, so I’m glad that when I’m low, my presence isn’t needed on every post (I did read all the comments).

Today I want to kick-start another discussion if I can, this time about what’s going on in Minnesota. I’m referring not to the welfare-fraud scandal that brought down governor Tim Walz, but the big fight between ICE agents and local residents, spurred not just by Trump sending more lawmen into the state, but by the killing of Renée Good by an ICE agent.  This has led to big and ongoing protests in which Minnesotans gather in big crowds whenever ICE shows up, trying to prevent them from apprehending suspects.  These are not peaceful on either side: ICE agents fire pepper spray and tear gas, while some demonstrators physically assault lawmen and block the cars of ICE agents. (To see how well the citizens are organized, read Olivia Reingold’s piece “I joined ICE watch” at the Free Press.)

Since I am not and haven’t been there, I’m not sure whether the protestors are trying to incite violence as part of their protests, hoping, as did Martin Luther King, Jr. did in the Sixties, that brutality on the party of the law will promote one’s cause.  The difference is that King’s cause was to get rights for black people, while the cause of the protestors seems to be to keep Trump from using heavyhanded tactics to deport undocumented immigrants.  This difference is why, I think, we don’t see many black people speaking out about the demonstrations.

I have still not decided whether Good’s killing was illegal: a deliberate act of manslaughter or even murder.  Because someone was killed, though, and there is some question that bullets were fired gratuitously, I think there needs to be an investigation of the officer and, if things look illegal, a trial. We need to preserve our system of law and accountability. But I am not willing to pronounce the officer guilty, as so many are doing (my Facebook page is full of those pronouncements). That would take a trial. All I can say is that, since we haven’t yet had a trial or an investigation the incident looks like an unfortunate concatenation of a woman who should not have been doing what she did (blocking ICE access with her car, and refuse refusing orders to exit her car), and an ICE officer who may have been overly retributive because he had been through a similar experience (dragged by a car for many yards) in recent weeks.

So, please discuss this issue. What do you think should be done about the officer who killed Good? Does Good herself bear any responsibility for what happened? Are the protestors completely peaceful, or are they hoping to provoke violence? Are they trying to keep officers from enforcing the law? (My view is that all undocumented immigrants deserve a hearing before an immigration judge before they are deported, but also that that ICE is being heavy-handed in law enforcement. Further, in the end there should be a procedure to expel people who entered the country illegally, giving priority to those with a criminal record.) Sometimes it seems to me that the protestors all want open borders and no deportations, which is not in line with what most Americans want.

I have written too much already, and am still rethinking the events in Minnesota, but I thank Ceiling Cat that I don’t have to adjudicate them.

By the way, the Minnesota state legislature has just brought up Tim Walz on four articles of impeachment, all involving the corruption scandal in his state. He’s already said he won’t be running again.

For decades, astronomers believed that the most massive stars in the universe lived fast and died quietly, collapsing directly into black holes without the spectacular fireworks of a supernova explosion. That understanding has been dramatically overturned by observations of SN 2022esa, a peculiar supernova that erupted from an incomprehensibly massive star and is now destined to become a black hole binary system.