Scientists unlock the secrets of the Great Sphinx of Giza

The Great Sphinx of Giza has stood guard over the desert for thousands of years. Carved from limestone and towering beside the pyramids, it remains a powerful symbol of ancient ingenuity. With its serene gaze and monumental scale, it continues to stir debate and awe in equal measure.


Throughout history, sphinx-like figures have appeared in many cultures. But none have left a mark quite like the one in Egypt. Here, the Sphinx represents strength, wisdom, and divine protection—a guardian carved in stone.


Shaped with the body of a lion and the head of a ruler, the Great Sphinx is thought to reflect the might of a pharaoh. Scholars link it to the sun god Ra, suggesting a blend of human insight and animal strength. Its design may have been a message to the heavens—and a warning to foes.


Elsewhere, the Sphinx takes a more sinister form. In Greek stories, it becomes a beast that tests wanderers with riddles. Those who fail pay with their lives. This version represents the edge of the unknown—where knowledge meets danger.

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Mysterious ‘Gravity Hole’ discovered at the center of the Indian Ocean

The ground beneath your feet may feel solid, but Earth is constantly shifting. While we have mapped the surface in detail, its deep interior remains a mystery. Even with modern technology, no probe has ever reached beyond the thin crust, which is only about 35 kilometers deep. To study the Earth's core and mantle, scientists must rely on indirect methods.

From space, Earth appears as a smooth blue sphere, but its shape is far from perfect. Beneath the surface, unevenly distributed mass creates gravitational variations, distorting its form. The movement of tectonic plates further reshapes the planet, building mountains, carving valleys, and adding to its irregularity.

These distortions extend to the oceans, which cover 71% of the surface. Without tides or currents, seawater would settle into a shape known as a geoid—a wavy, gravity-defined surface. Some areas rise where gravity is stronger, while others dip where it is weaker. These variations, called "geoid anomalies," reveal how mass is distributed deep within the Earth.

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Warp drive may be achievable

For decades, movies and television series have sparked curiosity about the future, blending science with fiction in ways that inspire real-world innovation.


Among the most intriguing ideas is warp drive—a concept that challenges Einstein’s Theory of Relativity by suggesting faster-than-light travel might be possible by warping space and time.


In 1994, theoretical physicist Miguel Alcubierre introduced the idea of a space-time bubble that could contract distances ahead of a spacecraft while expanding them behind it. 

His model, known as the Alcubierre drive, suggested a loophole in relativity that could, in theory, allow faster-than-light travel. Yet, most scientists dismissed it as impossible due to extreme energy requirements.  READ MORE...

theory of relativity with quantum mechanics

For over a century, quantum mechanics and Einstein’s general relativity have stood as the cornerstones of modern physics, yet their unification remains one of science’s greatest challenges.


Now, researchers at University College London (UCL) have introduced a groundbreaking theory that challenges conventional approaches to this problem.


Quantum gravity seeks to bridge the gap between the microscopic world, where quantum mechanics governs particle behavior, and the macroscopic realm, where gravity shapes spacetime.


Traditionally, physicists have assumed that Einstein’s theory must be modified to fit within the quantum framework. However, UCL researchers propose a striking alternative: a "postquantum theory of classical gravity" that reexamines the fundamental relationship between these two domains.     READ MORE...

AI Models Big Bang

Researchers from the Flatiron Institute and collaborators have developed an innovative method that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to estimate the universe's cosmological parameters with unprecedented precision. This breakthrough could reshape how scientists study the cosmos.


The method, called Simulation-Based Inference of Galaxies (SimBIG), extracts hidden insights from galaxy distributions, offering a significant improvement over traditional techniques.


By leveraging AI, the team reduced uncertainty in key parameters, such as the universe’s matter clumpiness, to less than half that of conventional methods. This enhanced accuracy aligns closely with other observations, including measurements of the universe’s oldest light, further validating the approach.


Published in Nature Astronomy, the findings promise to advance our understanding of the universe's fundamental properties.     READ MORE...

Life Traced Back to a Single Ancestor

The origins of life on Earth have long fascinated scientists, particularly the nature of the last universal common ancestor (LUCA). LUCA, the root of the evolutionary tree from which Bacteria and Archaea diverged, represents a key node in life’s history. 

This ancient organism’s characteristics, age, and ecological role offer critical insights into the early evolution of life on Earth.


LUCA is estimated to have existed approximately 4.2 billion years ago. Researchers from the University of Bristol and international collaborators employed innovative methods to trace its timeline. 

They used divergence time analysis of pre-LUCA gene duplicates, combined with microbial fossils and isotope records, to establish LUCA’s position in evolutionary history.


These findings challenge prior assumptions that life could not survive the Late Heavy Bombardment, a period of intense asteroid impacts occurring between 3.7 and 3.9 billion years ago.      READ MORE...

Groundbreaking NASA Battery

In a groundbreaking development, NASA has unveiled a new solid-state sulfur selenium battery to revolutionize the aviation industry by replacing traditional gas-powered engines with electricity.


This innovative technology not only promises to significantly reduce harmful emissions but also opens up possibilities for faster and more efficient electric airplanes. In this article, we explore the implications of this breakthrough, its potential to transform air travel, and the challenges that lie ahead.


Air travel is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and environmental pollution. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), commercial air travel in the United States alone accounts for 10% of transportation emissions and 3% of the nation's total greenhouse gas emissions.     READ MORE...

Major Leap Towards TIME TRAVEL

An international research team has reignited interest by proposing that tachyons are indeed possible within the framework of Einstein’s special theory of relativity. (CREDIT: Pobytov/Getty Images)

The concept of the tachyon, a theoretical particle that travels faster than light, has fascinated physicists and sparked decades of theoretical exploration. Originally conceived as a solution to certain quantum and relativity puzzles, tachyons remain hypothetical.


Yet, a new study by an international research team has reignited interest by proposing that tachyons are indeed possible within the framework of Einstein’s special theory of relativity—a finding that could significantly reshape our understanding of causality, time, and even the structure of reality.

The Origins of the Tachyon
Physicist Gerald Feinberg introduced the idea of tachyons in 1962 as particles that could potentially travel faster than light, always maintaining speeds beyond that limit. This groundbreaking suggestion was rooted in his study of imaginary mass, a concept involving the square root of a negative number.      READ MORE...

Light Travels in Both Time and Space

A groundbreaking achievement by physicists from Imperial College London has brought new insights into quantum physics by recreating the famous double-slit experiment in the dimension of time. 

Led by Professor Riccardo Sapienza from the Department of Physics, this research team explored how light interacts with a material whose optical properties can change within a few femtoseconds, revealing more about the fundamental nature of light.

The original double-slit experiment, first performed in 1801 by Thomas Young, showed that light behaves as a wave. Later experiments demonstrated that light also behaves as particles, revealing its quantum nature. 

In this classic experiment, light was passed through two physical slits, creating an interference pattern that displayed light’s wave properties. This experiment became crucial in understanding not just light but also the quantum behavior of particles like electrons and atoms.     READ MORE...

Our Universe is OLDER Than Originally Believed

In a groundbreaking discovery, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has presented data that directly challenges our current understanding of the universe. For years, cosmologists have pegged the universe's age at approximately 13.8 billion years. Yet, the new JWST findings suggest that this may be a vast underestimation. But how has one telescope managed to disrupt such a long-held belief?


The universe's secrets are vast, but none has been as puzzling as the presence of 'impossible early galaxies'—so named due to their peculiar formation periods.


According to existing models, these galaxies, emerging during the cosmic dawn, roughly 500 to 800 million years post-big bang, shouldn't have evolved disks and bulges so quickly. "It's akin to seeing a toddler with the wisdom of an octogenarian," says a scientist, explaining the paradox.     READ MORE...

High Speed Train

On a recent test run, China’s high-speed maglev train, a technological masterpiece, clocked an astonishing speed of 281 miles per hour. (CREDIT: Creative Commons)




China, a nation long-famed for its groundbreaking technological feats, is once again in the limelight. This time, it’s not a skyscraper, a bridge, or a quantum computer, but a train. Not just any train, but the fastest train in the world.


On a recent test run, China’s high-speed maglev train, a technological masterpiece, clocked an astonishing speed of 281 miles per hour. This blistering pace not only sets the maglev as the fastest train globally, but it also begins to challenge the domain of commercial air travel.


As it stands, commercial flights maintain a cruising speed ranging between 545 mph and 574 mph. Yet, once fully developed and optimized, the engineers behind this incredible feat believe the maglev could soar to speeds of up to 621 mph.


The secret behind this prowess? A term that seems to have sprung from science fiction: "magnetic levitation" or maglev. The maglev system allows the train to almost float, as if by magic, minimizing the friction traditionally experienced with standard train tracks.


But this isn’t magic—it’s science. The heart of this system lies in its superconducting magnets, kept at bone-chilling temperatures to augment their magnetic strength. These magnets, stationed on the train, engage with metallic components on the walls of a specially designed low-vacuum pipeline.


The resultant interaction creates both levitation and propulsion, meaning the train rides on a cushion of air rather than traditional tracks. The outcome is not just heightened speed but also a reduction in noise pollution.  READ MORE...

Earth's Atmosphere Can Clean Itself

Scientists have made a groundbreaking discovery that could change the way we think 

about air pollution. (CREDIT: Creative Commons)

Scientists have made a groundbreaking discovery that could change the way we think about air pollution. Researchers at the University of California, Irvine, have found that a strong electric field between airborne water droplets and surrounding air can create a molecule called hydroxide (OH) by a previously unknown mechanism.


This molecule is crucial in helping to clear the air of pollutants, including greenhouse gases and other chemicals.


The discovery is outlined in a new paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, which suggests that the traditional thinking around the formation of OH in the atmosphere is incomplete. Until now, it was thought that sunlight was the primary driver of OH formation, but this new research shows that OH can be created spontaneously by the special conditions on the surface of water droplets.


“You need OH to oxidize hydrocarbons, otherwise they would build up in the atmosphere indefinitely,” said Sergey Nizkorodov, a University of California, Irvine professor of chemistry, who was part of the research team.


“OH is a key player in the story of atmospheric chemistry. It initiates the reactions that break down airborne pollutants and helps to remove noxious chemicals such as sulfur dioxide and nitric oxide, which are poisonous gases, from the atmosphere.”


The implications of this discovery are significant. It could change the way we model air pollution, as the assumption has always been that OH comes from the air and is not produced in the droplet directly. This means that existing models may need to be revised to take into account this new source of OH.  READ MORE...

Traveling at Light Speed

David Burns produced an engine concept that, he says, could theoretically accelerate to 99 percent 

of the speed of light - all without using propellant. (CREDIT: Creative Commons)

When it comes to space, there's a problem with our human drive to go all the places and see all the things. A big problem. It's, well, space. It's way too big. Even travelling at the maximum speed the Universe allows, it would take us years to reach our nearest neighbouring star.


But another human drive is finding solutions to big problems. And that's what NASA engineer David Burns has been doing in his spare time. He's produced an engine concept that, he says, could theoretically accelerate to 99 percent of the speed of light - all without using propellant.


He's posted it to the NASA Technical Reports Server under the heading "Helical Engine", and, on paper, it works by exploiting the way mass can change at relativistic speeds - those close to the speed of light in a vacuum. It has not yet been reviewed by an expert.


Understandably this paper has caused buzz approaching levels seen in the early days of the EM Drive. And yes, even some headlines claiming the engine could 'violate the laws of physics'.


But while this concept is fascinating, it's definitely not going to break physics anytime soon.  READ MORE...