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It is rare to find brown dwarf stars orbiting in pairs, and this pair has an even more unusual exoplanet companion

The dream of finding life on an alien Earth-like world is hampered by a number of technical challenges. Not the least of which is that Earth is dwarfed by the size and brightness of the Sun. We might be able to discover evidence of life by studying the molecular spectra of a planet's atmosphere as it passes in front of the star, but those results might be inconclusive. The way to be certain is to observe the planet directly, but that would take a space telescope with a mirror 3–4 times that of Webb.

Enjopy this one-minute video of a largehead hairtail (Trichiurus lepturus), the “liquid metal fish”, also called the “beltfish”.  As you can see, it’s a predator, and it’s gone some set of choppers. Its metallic color apparently camouflages it from prey. And look at that dorsal fin!

Some info from Wikipedia (their bolding):

The largehead hairtail (Trichiurus lepturus) or beltfish is a member of the cutlassfish family, Trichiuridae. This common to abundant species is found in tropical and temperate oceans throughout the world. The taxonomy is not fully resolved, and the Atlantic, East Pacific and Northwest Pacific populations are also known as Atlantic cutlassfish, Pacific cutlassfish and Japanese cutlassfish, respectively. This predatory, elongated fish supports major fisheries.

I wish they wouldn’t hold these things so long out of the water, as it makes them suffer. And I hope even more that they didn’t kill it.

How can astronomers pierce through the interstellar fog of the Milky Way – not to study distant objects, but to understand the fog itself? It just takes a little light.

Space agencies from the US, Europe and Japan are all making plans to visit the asteroid Apophis when it makes an extremely close flyby in 2029 to learn how to deflect others like it

From timetable scheduling to colouring in, and even casting a play, this nifty piece of mathematics is the answer, says Katie Steckles

Black Mirror's new season is a mixed bag, ranging from a sublimely plotted romp to one of the worst episodes to date. And it's still playing fast and loose with its sci-fi concepts, finds Bethan Ackerley

Photographer Mitch Epstein's years-long project highlights the majesty and vulnerability of old growth forests across the US

Why is saying no to other people so difficult – even when we really know we should? Sunita Sah's new book Defy has some novel ideas about the interpersonal forces holding us back

General relativity is an astonishingly beautiful theory, and grappling with why it disagrees with quantum mechanics is a joy, says Chanda Prescod-Weinstein

Feedback was pleased to come across journalist Taylor Lorenz's coining of the word "viralflation", as videos with hundreds of millions of hits proliferate across the internet

The idea that the rise of tech means today's young people are less intelligent than previous generations is rife – but wrong, says neuroscientist Dean Burnett

Exposing the origins of the improbable – and at times scary – plans of tech billionaires makes Adam Becker's More Everything Forever a disturbing but important book

Quantum theory started with a bout of hay fever, and went on to transform our view of the universe – but its legacy isn't complete

Researchers have helped overturn the popular theory that water on Earth originated from asteroids bombarding its surface; Scientists have analyzed a meteorite analogous to the early Earth to understand the origin of hydrogen on our planet. The research team demonstrated that the material which built our planet was far richer in hydrogen than previously thought. The findings support the theory that the formation of habitable conditions on Earth did not rely on asteroids hitting the Earth.

A researcher has developed an autonomous driving algorithm for agricultural robots used for greenhouse cultivation and other farm work.

A research team develops a new alloy that maintains tensile properties from -196 degrees Celsius to 600 degrees Celsius.

An international team has discovered the most distant spiral galaxy candidate known to date. This ultra-massive system existed just one billion years after the Big Bang and already shows a remarkably mature structure, with a central old bulge, a large star-forming disk, and well-defined spiral arms. The discovery was made using data from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and offers important insights into how galaxies can form and evolve so rapidly in the early Universe.

Crime scene investigation may soon become significantly more accurate and efficient thanks to a new method for detecting gunshot residues. Researchers have developed the technique that converts lead particles found in gunshot residue into a light-emitting semiconductor. The method is faster, more sensitive, and easier to use than current alternatives. Forensic experts at the Amsterdam police force are already testing it in actual crime scene investigations.

According to new research next-generation DNA sequencing (NGS) -- the same technology which is powering the development of tailor-made medicines, cancer diagnostics, infectious disease tracking, and gene research -- could become a prime target for hackers.