Physicists are grappling with their own reproducibility crisis
A contentious meeting of physicists highlighted concerns, failures and possible fixes for a crisis in condensed matter physics ⌘ Read more

Orchids feed their young through underground fungal connections
A common species of orchid seems to pass food packages to nearby seedlings, in a kind of plant parental care ⌘ Read more

Food ‘addiction’ should be treated like drug abuse, claim doctors
A group of doctors and scientists is getting behind the controversial idea that people can be addicted to certain trigger foods, in the same way as drugs and alcohol. The team says this addiction should be treated with abstinence, which goes against mainstream medical advice ⌘ Read more

Nomads thrived in Greece after the collapse of the Roman Empire
Analysis of pollen in sediment cores from a large lake in Greece shows that nomadic livestock herders took over the region after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire ⌘ Read more

Fragile quantum entanglement may survive chaos of chemical reactions
Strange quantum characteristics of molecules can weather the chaos of chemical reactions, which may benefit quantum technologies or unveil hidden natural phenomena ⌘ Read more

AI noise-cancelling headphones let you focus on just one voice
You can blank out certain types of background noise and focus on just one conversation using prototype noise-cancelling headphones ⌘ Read more

A lost branch of the river Nile flowed past the pyramids of Egypt
Soil core samples show an ancient riverbed under the desert near many Egyptian pyramids, revealing an ancient waterway that dried up thousands of years ago ⌘ Read more

Black bear caught on camera in Pasadena goes viral in ‘smiling’ photo
Wildlife photographer Johanna Turner used a trail camera to capture this cheery shot of a black bear, which is going viral after she posted it on social media ⌘ Read more

Genetic mutation gives cats a ‘salty liquorice’ coat colour
Researchers have discovered the gene variant responsible for a distinctive colour pattern seen in cats in Finland, named salmiak after a variety of liquorice ⌘ Read more

Virtual power plants could ease growing strain on US electric grid
Energy-saving networks that link smart devices, solar panels and batteries could regulate power demand and help avoid fossil fuel use at peak times ⌘ Read more

Surgeons can use AI chatbot to tell robots to help with suturing
A virtual assistant for surgeons translates text prompts into commands for a robot, offering a simple way to instruct machines to carry out small tasks in operations ⌘ Read more

Einstein was right about the way matter plunges into black holes
For the first time, astronomers have observed the area right at the edge of a black hole where matter stops orbiting and plunges straight in at near light speed ⌘ Read more

Cameras inspired by insect eyes could give robots a wider view
Artificial compound eyes made without the need for expensive and precise lenses could provide cheap visual sensors for robots and driverless cars ⌘ Read more

Why it’s vital we fight prejudices about the elderly once and for all
Ageism is a widespread global prejudice. It’s about time we started acknowledging our unconscious bias towards old age – not least because our own future health depends on it ⌘ Read more

OpenAI overtakes Google in race to build the future, but who wants it?
With big announcements about the latest artificial intelligence models this week, tech firms are competing to have the most exciting products - but generative AI remains hampered by issues ⌘ Read more

Quantum internet draws near thanks to entangled memory breakthroughs
Researchers aiming to create a secure quantum version of the internet need a device called a quantum repeater, which doesn’t yet exist - but now two teams say they are well on the way to building one ⌘ Read more

Sunlight-trapping device can generate temperatures over 1000°C
A solar energy absorber that uses quartz to trap heat reached 1050°C in tests and could offer a way to decarbonise the production of steel and cement ⌘ Read more

Buildings that include weak points on purpose withstand more damage
If a building is hit with an earthquake or explosives, the entire thing can collapse – but a design balancing strong and weak structural connections lets part of it fall while preserving the rest ⌘ Read more

How overcoming negative attitudes to ageing can make you live longer
Ageism is pervasive, accepted and invisible. Stamping out this prejudice won’t just benefit society, it will also have huge payoffs for those people who hold it ⌘ Read more

Will sucking carbon from air ever really help tackle climate change?
The direct air capture industry got a boost last week with the opening of Mammoth, the largest plant yet for sucking carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, but questions remain about whether the technology can scale up ⌘ Read more

Around half the world could lose easily accessible groundwater by 2050
In coming decades, major groundwater sources may become economically unfeasible — this could raise food prices and shift diets, among other impacts ⌘ Read more

Frozen human brain tissue can now be revived without damage
Using a new approach, scientists have successfully frozen and thawed brain organoids and cubes of brain tissue from someone with epilepsy, which could enable better research into neurological conditions ⌘ Read more

Why did hominins like us evolve at all?
Animal life on Earth existed for over half a billion years before hominins hit the scene – a complex combination of environmental changes, innovations in technology and competition may have led to us ⌘ Read more

Huge jellyfish invasion could disrupt Arctic ecosystems as waters warm
The Arctic could see a surge of jellyfish as climate change leads to warmer waters and less ice – a process known as “jellification” ⌘ Read more

One-day mental health workshop improves teenagers’ mood for six months
The one-day courses were particularly beneficial to those pupils with worse mental health problems initially ⌘ Read more