physics

Dr. Vanessa Restrepo showcases prototype of bio-inspired materials. Credit: Texas A&M Engineering Bio-inspired materials (BIM) are synthetic materials whose structure and properties are similar to natural materials or living matter. These materials have the potential to advance structural materials, textiles and protective equipment due to their durability and self-healing properties. Dr. Vanessa Restrepo, assistant professor … Read more

Topographic data are draped over infrared image data showing complex tectonic structures and volcanic deposits in the Eridania region of Mars. Warm colors are higher elevation. Credit: NASA/Mars Odyssey/HRSC Plate tectonics is not something most people would associate with Mars. In fact, the planet’s dead core is one of the primary reasons for its famous … Read more

Photographs of freestanding polycrystalline diamond nanomembranes. Credit: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft Diamond is known for its outstanding thermal conductivity. This makes the material ideal for cooling electronic components with high power densities, such as those used in processors, semiconductor lasers or electric vehicles. Researchers at Fraunhofer U.S., an independent international affiliate of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, have succeeded in developing … Read more

Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Quick and easy interventions that inspire people to take direct climate action are the holy grail. Behavioral scientists and policymakers are keen to learn which small steps can make the biggest difference. One of the largest experiments ever conducted in climate change psychology shows that the same interventions have different outcomes … Read more

Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain In December 2023, WIRED reported that Mark Zuckerberg, the billionaire CEO of Meta and one of the foremost architects of today’s social-media-dominated world, has been buying up large swathes of the Hawaiian island Kauai. Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, are constructing a gigantic compound—known as Ko’olau Ranch—on this land, which … Read more

Credit: CC0 Public Domain In early 2024 most parts of Kenya, including Nairobi, experienced unusually high temperatures. The World Meteorological Organization described the hot weather as a global phenomenon: record high temperatures were recorded in 2023. January 2024 has been recorded as the hottest month on record so far worldwide. Gilbert Ouma, the coordinator of … Read more

Credit: CC0 Public Domain In any competition, there are winners and losers. In the race to adjust to a changing climate, some butterflies seem to be doing well. But others, less so. The brown hairstreak has been reported to be doing well around London and the UK population has been stable since the 1980s. Meanwhile, … Read more

Credit: NASA / ESA / CSA / Ivo Labbe (Swinburne) / Rachel Bezanson (University of Pittsburgh) / Alyssa Pagan (STScI) About 400,000 years after the Big Bang, the cosmos was a very dark place. The glow of the universe’s explosive birth had cooled, and space was filled with dense gas —mostly hydrogen—with no sources of … Read more

Hylaeus derectus male. This little bee (3–5 mm) bee is only known thus far from near Mt Nadarivatu on Viti Levu, Fiji. It was collected from a canopy-flowering mistletoe. Credit: James Dorey Photography After a decade searching for new species of bees in forests of the Pacific Islands, all we had to do was look … Read more

“I know what you’re thinking. Was that six eyes or only two? Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement, I’ve kinda’ lost track myself.” Under a microscope, the head of a daddy longlegs glows magenta where its modern-day eyes form. Opsins shown in green indicate that two additional sets of vestigial eyes … Read more