*Even if it's a dinky unmanned device, and very difficult and expensive, and just the nearest possible star, well, I would love to live long enough to see somebody launch an interstellar probe.
Quantum ‘Jamming’ Could Help Unlock the Mysteries of Causality
To keep communications secure in a post-quantum world, cryptographers are digging down into the concept of cause and effect.
Matt von Hippel
All the Fancy Measuring Devices Used in Science Rely on Two Stone-Age Techniques
The many methods we use to gather data ultimately boil down to either counting or comparing.
Rhett Allain
The Universe Is Full of ‘Impossible’ Black Holes. Scientists Now Know Why
There are black holes that are too big to be born from the death of a star but aren’t quite supermassive either. There’s finally evidence for where those came from.
Jorge Garay
Build a Radio Wave Detector With Balls of Aluminum Foil!
Here’s how you can hack together a radio transmitter and receiver out of stuff you have at home—and explore the weirdness of wireless.
Rhett Allain
Google Security Engineer Arrested in Million-Dollar Polymarket Trading Scheme
According to federal prosecutors, Michele Spagnuolo made more than $1 million on the prediction market platform using confidential information about Google Search traffic.
Kate Knibbs
Why Garlic Repels Mosquitoes and Keeps Them From Breeding
Garlic, as your grandmother may have told you, repels mosquitoes; it also completely blocks them from mating and laying eggs. Diallyl disulfide, it turns out, deserves the credit.
Fernanda González
Cybercriminal Twins Caught After They Forgot to Turn Off Microsoft Teams Recording
Plus: Instructure’s Canvas ransomware debacle comes to a close, an alleged dark net market kingpin gets arrested, OpenAI workers fall victim to a supply chain attack, and more.
Andrew Couts
The First Atomic Bomb Test in 1945 Created an Entirely New Material
The discovery from the Trinity nuclear test site shows how extreme conditions can result in materials never before seen in nature or in the lab.
Marta Musso
xAI Adds 19 New Gas Turbines Despite Ongoing Lawsuit
Emails show that Elon Musk’s company is expanding its use of portable gas-fired power at its Colossus 2 site as a fight over air quality continues.
Molly Taft
The US Has a Plan to Combat Screwworm. It Involves a Lot More Flies
Releasing sterilized flies can crash a local population of flesh-eating screwworms. But the US currently has limited capacity to produce them.
Emily Mullin
Old Oil and Gas Wells Could Find Second Life Producing Clean Energy
States across the US are looking to take major sources of pollution and use them to generate much-needed power.
Maria Gallucci
A Fundamental Principle of Aeronautical Engineering Has Been Overturned
It’s long been accepted that the smoother the surface, the lower the aerodynamic drag. That turns out not always to be the case.
Ritsuko Kawai