Why researchers gave pigeons tiny backpacksÂ
You might assume that pigeons keep their eyes still as they fly. New research, however, shows that pigeons engage in slow, subtle eye movements. This behavior might help the birds…
2026
The real mystery behind Moana: After 1,700 years, why did Polynesians suddenly sail east?
The same question drives both the plot of Moana and decades of archaeological research: Why, after centuries of relative stability, did Polynesian voyagers suddenly begin settling islands thousands of kilometers…
Every cool thing you can do with Apple’s new Siri AI app
With the launch of Apple Intelligence in 2024, Apple first started to get serious about AI. But it’s taken the company another two years to finally get its Siri assistant…
A Jupiter-size planet that escaped its star’s death
WD 1856 b is the only confirmed case of a planet that survived the death of a Sun-like star. It’s a Jupiter-size world orbiting a white dwarf—the burned-out remnant of…
Overhaul of public lands grazing regulations seeks to cut public involvement
The federal government is rewriting its rules governing ranching on public lands to increase the number of cattle, sheep, and other livestock grazing on 155 million acres in the West,…
Quantum error correction can constantly recalibrate a processor
There are some obvious big picture issues that stand between us and useful quantum computing. Issues like whether we can make enough high-quality hardware qubits to connect into the error-corrected…
Check out the first images of Quest shipwreck
Back in 2024, we reported on the discovery of the Quest shipwreck, the polar exploration vessel that served Arctic explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton on his last voyage. Shackleton died before…
An orbiting disco ball gave Einstein’s theory its most precise test yet
Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity predicts that a rotating mass like the Earth pulls the fabric of space and time around with it in a perpetual swirl. This phenomenon…
Is an air-conditioning revolution coming to Europe?
If you’re reading this while the blinds are drawn against yet another heat wave and wondering whether it’s finally time to buy an air conditioner, you’re far from alone. At…
Flores Hobbits’ eating habits offer clues about their evolutionary past
Until about 60,000 years ago, diminutive hominin cousins, Homo floresiensis (affectionately nicknamed Hobbits for obvious reasons), shared the island of Flores with Komodo dragons, pygmy elephants, and giant rats. Based…