Science

A team at Northwestern University has transformed an industrial waste product into a battery for storing sustainable energy. While many iterations of these batteries are in production or being researched for grid-scale applications, using a waste molecule, in this case, triphenylphosphine oxide, (TPPO) has never been done before. The batteries used…

Observing individual stars halfway across the observable universe has generally been regarded as impossible in astronomy, akin to trying to use binoculars to see individual grains of dust in the Moon’s craters—yet that’s exactly what the James Webb Space Telescope just accomplished. Leveraging a pair of remarkable cosmic phenomena, an international…

The last 15 years have seen a remarkable change in the clinical considerations of coffee. Studies examining the caffeinated beverage for its potential effects on more than several different biological systems, from the kidneys to mood, have pinned it as something like a health drink. Now, research from the University of…

(Originally published by Knowable Magazine—Written by Bob Holmes) Everyone loves to watch hummingbirds—tiny, brightly colored blurs that dart about, hovering at flowers and pugnaciously defending their ownership of a feeder. But to the scientists who study them, hummingbirds offer much more than an entertaining spectacle. Their small size and blazing metabolism mean…

Mysterious radio bursts from outer space first discovered in 2007, last only a millisecond but can carry an enormous amount of energy—enough to briefly outshine entire galaxies. Since that first fast radio burst, or FRB, astronomers have detected thousands more, whose locations range from within our own galaxy to as far…

A new way of treating common inflammatory skin conditions such as eczema is on the horizon, according to a new study. American researchers discovered that a compound called SYM2081 inhibited certain cells that drive inflammation in mice and human skin samples. They say it paves the way for new treatments to…