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Topics /
Science & Space
The most popular blog posts about science & space on Hacker News. 197 posts.
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MIT class project turns into an FDA-cleared treatment for tremors
Encora Therapeutics, which developed a wrist-based device that reduces essential tremor, started as a project in MIT’s famous product-design class, 2.009 (Product Engineering Processes).
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Atlas: A World Model for Spatial Intelligence
Introducing Atlas, our new omni world model for spatial intelligence.
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Meta announces nuclear energy projects
Our landmark agreements with Vistra, TerraPower, and Oklo will expand the operation of three nuclear power plants, boost the development of nuclear technology, and foster job growth in American communities.
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Giant trees have no trouble pumping water to top branches: new research
The world’s tallest tropical trees have no trouble pumping water to their topmost branches, new research reveals. Conventional scientific theory suggests that as trees grow, it becomes harder to transport water from roots to leaves
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Mystery of 60-Second Fluctuations in Power Grids Solved
Why do our grids show a brief spike in electricity demand every minute? A team led by Dirk Witthaut from Forschungszentrum Jülich has now demonstrated that this is due to regular power checks carried out by large-scale battery storage systems. These findings could help to make our electricity supply more robust, as…
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Scientists observe Einstein's gravity in the quantum world
An international team including Oxford physicists has observed a long-predicted effect of gravity on a falling quantum object for the first time. The study provides an experimental connection between quantum physics and Einstein's theory of gravity.
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Ultraviolet corona discharges on treetops during storms
Penn State experts in meteorology and atmospheric science made their way down the nation’s eastern coast in June 2024 in search of corona discharges, a long-hypothesized atmospheric weather phenomenon where miniscule pulses of electricity dance at the tips of tree leaves, causing the canopy to glow in the ultraviolet…
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CERN to host a new phase of Open Research Europe
In an important step for open science, CERN has been selected to host a new phase of Open Research Europe (ORE) , an initiative supported by the European Commission and a new funding consortium of European national funding agencies and research organisations. Aligned with the Action Plan for Diamond Open Access (2022)…
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More than sixty percent of the United States is experiencing drought conditions
More than 60 percent of the United States is experiencing drought conditions, with more than 20 percent in an extreme drought. Andrew Ellis, a climatologist at Virginia Tech said the current conditions are among the worst in decades because the combination of intensity and aerial coverage is rare. He explained why…
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CT Scans of Health Wearables
Experience the engineering behind today’s leading health wearables including Oura Ring, Dexcom G7, and Jabra Hearing Aids. Industrial CT scans reveal how these devices merge medical precision with consumer design.
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Verification Is Not Knowledge: Science needs more than answers
Science needs more than answers
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Inventions for battery reuse and recycling increase seven-fold in last decade
As global battery demand continues to surge, the number of end-of-life batteries from electric vehicles alone is expected to grow from 1.2 million in 2030 to 14 million by 2040. Battery circularity technologies enable the reuse and recycling of these batteries and, as with battery technologies more generally, Asia…
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Team from ETH Zurich make high quality quantum swap gate using a geometric phase
Researchers at ETH Zurich have realised particularly stable quantum logical operations with qubits made of neutral atoms. Since these operations, called quantum gates, are based on geometric phases they are extremely robust against experimental noise and can be used in quantum computers in the future.
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Batteries Not Included, or Required, for These Smart Home Sensors
Engineering and computing researchers create simple metal tags with unique ultrasonic fingerprints to detect door openings and other movements.
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Sleep research led to a new sleep apnea drug
A University of Toronto professor’s research on the physiology of sleep and breathing has paved the way for a new sleep apnea treatment that recently reported positive results in a phase 3 clinical trial.
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Astronomers may have found the first exomoon
Observations made with the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (ESO’s VLT) have revealed evidence for a moon-like object in the CD-35 2722 system. Unlike moons in our Solar System, the newly found object does not orbit a planet, raising questions about what to name it. Instead, it circles a brown…
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Where did all the starships go?
In this Weekly Chart, we look for sci-fi books and their changing titles.
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AI for American-produced cement and concrete
Meta is continuing its long-term roadmap to help the construction industry leverage AI to produce high-quality and more sustainable concrete mixes, as well as those exclusively produced in the Unit…
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Upper stage impacting the moon on 2026 August 5
On 2026 August 5, within a few minutes of 06:35 UTC, an upper stage (section) of a rocket used for a lunar mission will hit the moon. This may be of some (probably minor) scientific interest, and we may learn some things from it. It doesn't present any danger to anyone, though it does highlight a certain carelessness…
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Postmortem: Our first VLEO satellite mission (with imagery and flight data)
On March 14, 2025, Albedo's first satellite, Clarity-1, launched on SpaceX Transporter-13. We took a big swing with our pathfinder. The mission goals:
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New copy of earliest poem in English, written 1,3k years ago, discovered in Rome
Old fashioned sleuthing and the help of modern technology leads to discovery of manuscript with poem composed by a farm labourer 1,300 years ago.
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Earthquake scientists reveal how overplowing weakens soil at experimental farm
In a new study, University of Washington researchers examine the impact of tilling on soil moisture and water retention using methods designed for monitoring ea
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Sampling at negative temperature
Summary : Inspired by the definition of temperature in statistical mechanics and the possibility for it to be below zero, we try sampling LLaMA at T = − 0.001 T=-0.001 T = − 0.001 . The results are maximally weird.
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Ending respiratory infections
Introducing Intercept, a $500M bet to make respiratory infections like colds and flu a thing of the past.