Scientists Create 7 Remarkable New Ceramic Materials by Simply Removing Oxygen

Penn State scientists discovered seven new ceramics by simply removing oxygen—opening a path to materials once beyond reach.

Sometimes, less truly is more. By removing oxygen during the synthesis process, a team of materials scientists at Penn State successfully created seven new high-entropy oxides (HEOs)—a class of ceramics made from five or more metals that show promise for use in energy storage, electronics, and protective coatings.

During their experiments, the researchers also established a framework for designing future materials based on thermodynamic principles. Their findings were published in Nature Communications.

“By carefully removing oxygen from the atmosphere of the tube furnace during synthesis, we stabilized two metals, iron and manganese, into the ceramics that would not otherwise stabilize in the ambient atmosphere,” said corresponding and first author Saeed Almishal, research professor at Penn State working under Jon-Paul Maria, Dorothy Pate Enright Professor of Materials Science.

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Nordic Eating Habits May Hold the Secret to Longer, Healthier Lives

A large Swedish study shows that closely following the new Nordic dietary guidelines may reduce premature death while also supporting environmental sustainability. Using data from over 76,000 Swedish adults, the researchers found lower overall mortality, as well as reduced deaths from cancer and cardiovascular disease, among those who adhered most closely to the recommendations. Credit: Shutterstock

A new study from Aarhus University shows that the updated Nordic dietary guidelines, designed to support both human and planetary health, are linked to increased longevity.

A new study from Aarhus University reports that the new Nordic dietary guidelines, which aim to support both human health and environmental well-being, are linked to a longer lifespan.

The guidelines advise reducing meat and added sugar while increasing the intake of whole grains, legumes, fish, and low-fat dairy products. These recommendations, released in 2023, were developed with attention to both nutritional needs and climate impact.

According to the Aarhus University research team, people who follow the guidelines tend to have lower mortality rates. The work was conducted by Associate Professor Christina Dahm together with PhD-Student Anne Bak Mørch.

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Physicists Create First-Ever Visible “Time Crystal”

Physicists have created a visible, self-sustaining “time crystal” using swirling liquid crystals that move in endlessly repeating patterns when illuminated.

Imagine a clock that runs forever without batteries or wiring, its hands turning on their own without stopping.

In a recent study, physicists at the University of Colorado Boulder used liquid crystals, the same materials found in phone screens, to build something that echoes that idea. Their work produced a new form of what is known as a “time crystal,” a phase of matter in which components such as atoms or particles remain in continuous motion.

Although time crystals have been created before, this version is the first that can be viewed directly, which could open the door to practical uses.

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Scientists Uncover Cancer-Causing Chemicals in Common Foods

The study uses an advanced QuEChERS–GC–MS detection method to uncover hidden carcinogens in cooking oils and meats.


Many people today are placing greater emphasis on their overall health, turning daily workouts and calorie-tracking tools into regular habits. As part of this shift, more individuals are choosing diets that feature nutrient-rich foods such as fruits and vegetables.


Although these foods are widely viewed as healthy, they can still contain polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) (hydrophobic organic compounds comprising multiple fused aromatic rings) when exposed to contamination or when cooked through heating, smoking, grilling, roasting, or frying. PAHs can enter plant-based foods (such as fruits and vegetables) through atmospheric deposition from vehicle exhaust and industrial emissions, irrigation with contaminated water, or uptake from polluted soil, where they may accumulate on the surface or within edible tissues.

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New Engine Taps the Freezing Void of Space To Generate Power at Night

Researchers have demonstrated a way to generate nighttime power by exploiting an often-overlooked temperature difference between Earth and the sky. 

Their approach uses a specialized engine to tap into this subtle energy flow, revealing possibilities that don’t depend on sunlight or conventional fuels. 

(Artist’s concept). Credit: SciTechDaily.com

Researchers have created a device that generates mechanical power at night by harnessing the natural temperature difference between warm ground and the cold of outer space.


Engineers at the University of California, Davis, have created a device capable of producing mechanical energy at night by taking advantage of the warmth near the ground and the extreme cold of outer space. This approach could support practical uses such as moving air through greenhouses or other structures. The research was recently published in the journal Science Advances.

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New Quantum Battery Could Revolutionize Energy Storage

Scientists have designed a topological quantum battery that can charge efficiently without losing energy, using the unique properties of quantum mechanics and topology.  Their research suggests dissipation, long considered harmful, might actually boost power in these next-generation batteries.

Scientists from the RIKEN Center for Quantum Computing and Huazhong University of Science and Technology have developed a new theoretical model that explains how a “topological quantum battery” could be designed with high efficiency. 

This concept combines the topological properties of photonic waveguides with the quantum behavior of two-level atoms to create a device capable of advanced energy storage. T

heir study, published in Physical Review Letters, suggests that such batteries could have major applications in nanoscale power storage, optical quantum communication, and distributed quantum computing networks.

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Dark Matter and Dark Energy Don’t Exist, New Study Claims

A new study argues that dark matter and dark energy might be illusions caused by the universe’s forces fading over time.

For many years, scientists have thought that dark matter and dark energy make up most of the cosmos. A new study, however, challenges that long-held belief by proposing that these mysterious components might not exist at all. Instead, what appears to be dark matter and dark energy could actually result from the gradual weakening of the universe’s fundamental forces as it grows older.

The research, led by Rajendra Gupta, an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Physics at the University of Ottawa, suggests that if the core strengths of nature’s forces (like gravity) change slowly across time and space, they could account for the puzzling behaviors astronomers see—such as how galaxies rotate, evolve, and how the universe continues to expand.

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New Optics Tech Could Revolutionize Gravitational-Wave Astronomy

Gravitational-wave science is on the verge of a major step forward, thanks to a new instrumentation breakthrough led by physicist Jonathan Richardson at the University of California, Riverside. In a study published in Optica, researchers describe the creation and successful testing of FROSTI, a full-scale prototype designed to control laser wavefronts at extremely high power inside the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO).


LIGO is the facility that first confirmed the existence of gravitational waves, ripples in spacetime produced by massive accelerating objects such as merging black holes. This discovery provided key evidence in support of Einstein’s Theory of Relativity. The observatory relies on two 4-kilometer-long laser interferometers in Washington and Louisiana to capture these faint signals, giving scientists new ways to study black holes, cosmology, and the physics of extreme matter.

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Webb Telescope Spots Possible Signs of Atmosphere on “Goldilocks” Exoplanet

This artist’s concept portrays the seven rocky exoplanets within the TRAPPIST-1 system, located 40 light-years 

from Earth. Credit: NASA and JPL/Caltech

JWST data hints that Trappist-1e may have an atmosphere. More transits will test if this world could support liquid water.

Recent observations with NASA’s advanced JWST telescope have revealed a planet located 41 light-years from Earth that may possess an atmosphere. This planet orbits within the “habitable zone,” the region around a star where temperatures allow liquid water to remain on the surface of a rocky body. Water is essential because it is one of the fundamental requirements for sustaining life.

If upcoming observations verify these results, this would represent the first time a rocky planet in a star’s habitable zone has been confirmed to hold an atmosphere. The research is detailed in two studies published in the journal Astrophysical Journal Letters.

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NASA’s Webb Telescope Discovers 300 Mysterious Objects That Shouldn’t Exist

In a recent study, researchers from the University of Missouri examined distant regions of the universe and made a surprising discovery. By analyzing infrared images captured by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), they detected 300 objects shining more brightly than expected.

“These mysterious objects are candidate galaxies in the early universe, meaning they could be very early galaxies,” said Haojing Yan, an astronomy professor in Mizzou’s College of Arts and Science and co-author on the study. 

“If even a few of these objects turn out to be what we think they are, our discovery could challenge current ideas about how galaxies formed in the early universe — the period when the first stars and galaxies began to take shape.”

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NASA Just Flew Through the Sun’s Atmosphere

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe is revolutionizing our understanding of the Sun by flying closer than ever before, capturing jaw-dropping images from within the solar atmosphere.

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has captured the most detailed images ever taken near the Sun, recorded from just 3.8 million miles away from its surface.

These up-close images reveal structures within the solar wind, a continuous flow of charged particles that the Sun releases into space at speeds over 1 million miles per hour.

The new visuals and data are giving scientists critical insights into how the solar wind forms and behaves, which is key to understanding how it influences Earth.

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New Study Finds Probiotic Potential in Battling Pesticide Damage

Although previous research has linked pesticide exposure to harmful effects on gut microbes, a new study is the first to chart how specific bacteria in the human digestive system respond to interactions with insecticides, both in laboratory settings and in an animal model.

The researchers found that more than a dozen commonly used pesticides altered the growth of human gut bacteria, disrupted how these microbes handle nutrients, and in some cases, accumulated inside bacterial cells. 

The team created a publicly available “atlas” detailing these molecular interactions, which could support future research into disease mechanisms and potential treatments.

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Physicist Solves 120-Year-Old Thermodynamics Puzzle and Corrects Einstein

A thermodynamics mystery dating back to 1905 has been resolved by University of Seville professor José María Martín-Olalla, who demonstrates that the Nernst theorem is inherently tied to the second law of thermodynamics. His reinterpretation corrects a long-standing assumption made by Einstein, reframing how physicists understand the behavior of entropy near absolute zero. Credit: SciTechDaily.com

The paper argues that the third principle of thermodynamics follows from the second principle, rather than being a separate or independent concept.

Professor José María Martín-Olalla of the University of Seville has published a paper addressing a thermodynamics problem that has remained unresolved for 120 years. In doing so, he corrects an idea proposed by Albert Einstein more than a century ago.

The paper links Nernst’s theorem, an experimental observation from 1905 stating that entropy exchanges approach zero as temperature approaches zero, directly to the second principle of thermodynamics. Published in The European Physical Journal Plus, the study extends the implications of the second principle, which states that entropy in the universe tends to increase.

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New Calculations Shake Foundations of the Big Bang Theory

New findings from the University of Bonn challenge the assumptions of the standard cosmological model.

The faint “afterglow” that fills the universe has long been one of the most important clues supporting the Big Bang theory. Known as cosmic microwave background radiation, this ancient light not only serves as a snapshot of the early universe, but also helps scientists understand how the very first galaxies came to be.

Now, a team of researchers from the Universities of Bonn, Prague, and Nanjing is challenging what we thought we knew. Their new calculations suggest that the strength of this background radiation may have been significantly overestimated. If their findings are confirmed, it could force scientists to rethink some of the most fundamental ideas in modern cosmology.

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Perpendicular Planet: A 90° Orbit Over Twin Suns Leaves Scientists Stunned

A Bizarre New System in Space
Astronomers have uncovered one of the strangest planetary systems ever seen. Nicknamed 2M1510, this system appears to include a planet that loops far over the poles of two brown dwarfs—mysterious celestial bodies that are too heavy to be planets but not quite massive enough to ignite like stars. These two brown dwarfs orbit each other closely, while a third one drifts even farther out, orbiting the pair from a great distance.

In most star systems, including our own solar system, planets typically orbit in the same flat plane as their parent star’s equator. The star’s spin also lines up with this orderly layout, creating a calm, pancake-like structure in space where everything moves together. Everyone is “coplanar:” flat, placid, stately.

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Quantum Code Cracked: Scientists Solve 20-Year Puzzle Behind Entanglement Purity

Scientists have achieved a major leap in quantum technology by deriving an exact mathematical expression crucial for refining noisy quantum entanglement into the pure states needed for advanced quantum computing and communication.


Their work revisits and corrects flawed theories from two decades ago, pushing the theoretical frontier far ahead of experimental capabilities and setting the stage for future breakthroughs once technology catches up.

Breakthrough in Quantum Technology Modeling
A RIKEN mathematical physicist, together with a collaborator, has derived an exact mathematical expression for a process that plays a critical role in many quantum technologies. This theoretical breakthrough could help accelerate progress in fields like quantum computing and quantum communication.

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Are We Finally Not Alone? Webb Detects Life’s Signature on Distant Ocean Planet

They’ve detected sulfur-based molecules in the atmosphere of exoplanet K2-18b that, on Earth, are only produced by living organisms. While the evidence isn’t conclusive yet, it matches predictions for a “Hycean” world — one potentially covered in oceans and capable of hosting microbial life. If further observations confirm these findings, it could mark a turning point in our search for extraterrestrial life.

Possible Biosignature Found on Distant Exoplanet
Astronomers have found the most compelling potential signs of life yet beyond our solar system — but they’re interpreting the results with caution.

Using data from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), a team led by the University of Cambridge has identified possible traces of the molecules dimethyl sulfide (DMS) and/or dimethyl disulfide (DMDS) in the atmosphere of exoplanet K2-18b. This planet orbits within the habitable zone of its star, where conditions might allow liquid water to exist.

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Planet Found Orbiting Two Stars at a Perfect 90-Degree Angle

Astronomers using ESO’s Very Large Telescope have discovered a truly bizarre planet — one that orbits two stars at a perfect 90-degree angle.


This “polar planet” circles a rare eclipsing pair of brown dwarfs, making it the first confirmed world with this kind of alignment. It was a surprising and accidental find, defying expectations and proving that planet formation in extreme orbital setups is not only possible — it’s real.

Hints of Polar Planets Come to Life
In recent years, scientists have found several planets orbiting two stars at once — similar to the fictional planet Tatooine from Star Wars. Typically, these planets orbit in the same plane as the stars themselves. While researchers have long suspected that planets could also form in perpendicular, or polar, orbits around binary stars — and have even observed planet-forming discs tilted this way — there had been no direct evidence of a planet on such an orbit until now.

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Mars Kept a Secret for 3.5 Billion Years – NASA’s Curiosity Rover Finally Dug It Up

Scientists using NASA’s Curiosity rover have discovered siderite—an iron carbonate—in the sulfate-rich rocks of Gale Crater, solving a long-standing mystery about Mars’ missing carbonates.

This find provides powerful new clues about the planet’s ancient atmosphere and supports theories that it once harbored conditions suitable for liquid water. The discovery challenges previous satellite data and suggests that more carbon may be hidden below the Martian surface or lost to space.

Rethinking Mars’ Ancient Atmosphere
Scientists have long believed that Mars once had a thick, carbon dioxide-rich atmosphere and flowing liquid water on its surface. According to that theory, the CO2 and water should have reacted with the planet’s rocks to form carbonate minerals. But until recently, surface analyses by rovers and orbital instruments using near-infrared spectroscopy hadn’t detected the expected levels of carbonate.

Now, new findings reported in Science reveal otherwise. Data from three drill sites examined by NASA’s Curiosity rover show the presence of siderite—an iron-based carbonate mineral—within sulfate-rich rock layers on Mount Sharp, located in Gale Crater.

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A Century-Old Cosmic Mystery Solved – Four Hidden Planets Found Near Earth

Astronomers have confirmed the existence of four rocky planets orbiting Barnard’s Star, our nearest solitary stellar neighbor just six light-years away.

Using ultra-sensitive instruments, scientists detected subtle wobbles in the star’s light caused by the gravitational pull of these tiny worlds, each far smaller than Earth. These signals were buried under a noisy background of stellar jitters, but through advanced modeling and precise data analysis, researchers were able to separate the planet from the star.

A New Planetary Family Next Door
Astronomers have discovered four rocky planets, all significantly smaller than Earth, orbiting Barnard’s Star — the closest single star to our Sun and second closest overall, after the Alpha Centauri system.

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