All Stories by Emily Conover
- Physics
Notre Dame is reopening. What does that mean for its acoustics?
Researcher Brian Katz is studying the acoustics of the Paris cathedral and how it’s been altered throughout the centuries.
- Science & Society
A new biography of Benjamin Franklin puts science at the forefront
Richard Munson’s new book, Ingenious, shows how scientific research inspired the founding father’s diplomacy.
- Cosmology
Einstein’s gravity endures despite a dark energy puzzle
The DESI project previously reported that dark energy — long thought to be constant — changes over time. A new analysis reaffirms that claim.
- Particle Physics
Accelerated muons bring next-gen particle colliders closer to reality
Muon colliders could slam the subatomic particles together in hopes of unlocking physics secrets. Giving muons a speed boost is a crucial step.
- Particle Physics
Antimatter could travel by truck, a test with protons shows
A special particle trap designed to fit in a truck let researchers haul 70 protons across the CERN campus. Antiprotons may be next.
- Astronomy
A star winked out of sight. Could it be a ‘failed supernova’?
The dramatic dimming of a star in the nearby Andromeda galaxy could mark the birth of a black hole.
- Planetary Science
50 years ago, scientists found a new moon orbiting Jupiter
In 1974, astronomers discovered Jupiter’s 13th moon. They now know of at least 95 moons and have launched missions to study some up close.
- Space
A near-Earth asteroid offers clues to one dark matter theory
Data from the OSIRIS-REx mission to Bennu place a ceiling on the strength of a hypothetical fifth force that could explain dark matter’s origins.
- Tech
Tech companies want small nuclear reactors. Here’s how they’d work
To fuel AI’s insatiable energy appetite, tech companies are going big on small nuclear reactors.
- Physics
Radioactive beams give a real-time view of cancer treatment in mice
This first successful treatment of tumors with radioactive ion beams could one day lead to treating human patients’ tumors with millimeter precision.
- Artificial Intelligence
The discovery of tools key to machine learning wins the 2024 physics Nobel
John Hopfield and Geoffrey Hinton used tools from physics to develop data analysis methods that underlie machine learning.
- Physics
Thunderstorms churn up a ‘boiling pot’ of gamma rays
A thunderstorm seen in gamma-ray vision is a complex, frenetic lightshow when viewed from above the clouds.
Notre Dame cathedral, seen here in late November, has been restored after its 2019 fire. Acoustics researcher Brian Katz is studying the acoustics of the space and how that has changed throughout its history.
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Benjamin Franklin’s famous kite experiment, which revealed lightning’s electric nature, is more nuanced than commonly depicted, a new book explains.
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Scientists mapped galaxies with the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument at the Mayall telescope (shown) at Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona.
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A simulation shows tracks of particles produced in a muon collider, a proposed new type of particle smasher that scientists hope could reveal new physics secrets.
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A particle trap is lifted by a crane (left) before being loaded on a truck to take 70 protons on a road trip. The experiment was a dress-rehearsal for future transport of antiprotons.
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A star in the Andromeda galaxy (seen here in false-color infrared light) seemed to disappear, potential evidence of a failed supernova.
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Jupiter has at least 95 moons and thousands of smaller objects orbiting it. In this near-infrared image taken by the Hubble Space Telescope, three of the largest moons cast shadows (dark spots) across the planet’s face.
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The asteroid Bennu (shown) was carefully tracked as part of NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission, allowing scientists to check its orbit for signs of a hypothesized fifth force.
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Small modular reactors, such as the one by Kairos Power depicted in this illustration, could be a source of energy for tech companies like Google.
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Scientists used a beam of radioactive carbon-11 ions to treat a tumor (region circled in red) in a mouse. Red colors indicate where most of the ions stopped and decayed, as measured by PET scan. The ion beam comes from the left, and most particles stop before they hit the mouse’s spine (imaged with a CT scan).
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John Hopfield (left) and Geoffrey Hinton (right) won the 2024 Nobel Prize in physics for discoveries that allow machine learning with artificial neural networks.
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A thunderstorm, viewed from an airplane above the clouds, glows in gamma rays (purple in this illustration).
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