Ward: Education

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Physicists close in on the elusive sterile neutrino

Neutrinos may be nearly invisible, but they play a starring role in the Universe. Long-standing anomalies had hinted at a mysterious fourth “sterile” neutrino, potentially rewriting the laws of physics. Using exquisitely precise measurements of tritium decay, the KATRIN experiment found no evidence …

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A rare cancer-fighting plant compound has finally been decoded

UBC Okanagan researchers have uncovered how plants create mitraphylline, a rare natural compound linked to anti-cancer effects. By identifying two key enzymes that shape and twist molecules into their final form, the team solved a puzzle that had stumped scientists for years. The discovery could mak…

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Cancer cells depend on a dangerous DNA repair trick

Researchers have discovered how cells activate a last-resort DNA repair system when severe damage strikes. When genetic tangles overwhelm normal repair pathways, cells flip on a fast but error-prone emergency fix that helps them survive. Some cancer cells rely heavily on this backup system, even tho…

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Severe drought linked to the decline of the hobbits 61,000 years ago

An international team of scientists, including the University of Wollongong (UOW), has found compelling evidence that a changing climate played a role in the extinction of the early human species Homo floresiensis, also known as "hobbits." Their research, published in Communications Earth & Environm…

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Why we may be misreading our dogs' emotions

Humans and dogs have been living together side by side for thousands of years, so you would think we know everything about our four-legged friends by now. But we may not understand them as well as we think we do.

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Evidence of a quantum spin liquid ground state in a kagome material

Quantum spin liquids are exotic states of matter in which spins (i.e., the intrinsic angular momentum of electrons) do not settle into an ordered pattern and continue to fluctuate, even at extremely low temperatures. This state is characterized by high entanglement, a quantum effect that causes part…

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Can a new book crack one of neuroscience's hardest problems? Not quite

The ideas presented in George Lakoff and Srini Narayanan's The Neural Mind are fascinating, but the writing is far less compelling

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Detecting the hidden magnetism of altermagnets

Altermagnets are a newly recognized class of antiferromagnets whose magnetic structure behaves very differently from what is found in conventional systems. In conventional antiferromagnets, the sublattices are linked by simple inversion or translation, resulting in spin-degenerate electronic bands. …

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Experts Explore New Mushroom Which Causes Fairytale-Like Hallucinations

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109

The Proton, the 'Most Complicated Thing You Could Possibly Imagine'

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218

Moravec's Paradox and the Robot Olympics

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111

‘The sight of it is still shocking’: 46 photos that tell the story of the century so far

Did the 21st century begin on 1 January 2000? Or was it that blue sky day in September 2001 when the planes hit the twin towers? These images from the last 25 years chronicle modern history in the makingAt the turn of the century there was a modest debate, mainly conducted on the letters pages of th…

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Before This Physicist Studied the Stars, He Was One

Brian Cox once toured as a keyboardist in major rock and pop bands. Now he’s a particle physicist on a new world tour with a dazzling show he designed in an era of science disinformation and denial.

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Parasites plagued Roman soldiers at Hadrian's Wall

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323

10 things we learned about our human ancestors in 2025

Findings about our human ancestors continue to surprise us, especially those from 2025.

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‘Zombie Stars’ Might Be a Beacon in Our Search for Dark Matter

To answer odd questions, physicists have odd ideas.

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16,000 fossil footprints in central Bolivia reveal dinosaur behavior

Legend once had it that the huge, three-toed footprints scattered across the central highlands of Bolivia came from supernaturally strong monsters—capable of sinking their claws even into solid stone.

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A Knapsack Public Key Cryptosystem Based on Arithmetic in Finite Fields (1988) [pdf]

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208

Digested week: Like sex or massages, Christmas is even better when it stops

Despite doing twice as much work daily, I still have no free time at all. How? Plus, canal breaches and multiplying octopusesA canal in Shropshire has disappeared into a giant hole. I paraphrase, but not by much. Continue reading...

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This strange magnetism could power tomorrow’s AI

Scientists in Japan have confirmed that ultra-thin films of ruthenium dioxide belong to a newly recognized and powerful class of magnetic materials called altermagnets. These materials combine the best of two magnetic worlds: they’re stable against interference yet still allow fast, electrical reado…