An artist’s representation of the extreme engine Millen lab The hottest engine in the world is minuscule, reaches seemingly impossible efficiencies and could approximate nature’s tiniest machines. A thermodynamic engine is the simplest machine that can reveal how the laws of physics dictate the transformation of heat into useful work. It has a hot part…
When I was a teenager, I was—shockingly, I know—deeply nerdy. At a science-fiction convention, I bought a button that read, “186,282 miles/second: Not just a good idea, it’s the law.” It was poking fun at a highway speed limit slogan from the time; the speed listed is the velocity of light (forgive me, this was…
The hallucinogen psilocybin is produced in hundreds of species of magic mushroom microgen@gmail.com A single dose of the psychedelic compound psilocybin could be enough to remodel connections of specific brain networks, which may explain how the drug helps to treat some mental health conditions. Psychedelic drugs like psilocybin, which is produced in hundreds of species…
August 29, 2025 3 min read Student AIs Pick Up Unexpected Traits from Teachers through Subliminal Learning AI can transfer strange qualities through seemingly unrelated training—from a love of owls to something more dangerous By Emma R. Hasson edited by Sarah Lewin Frasier From a teacher’s body language, inflection, and other context clues, students often…
Deep brain stimulation is already used to treat Parkinson’s disease Living Art Enterprises/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY A brain implant that detects when someone is in pain and responds with deep brain stimulation has helped relieve people from previously untreatable chronic pain – with one participant even becoming able to hug his wife for the first time…
An antidote for carbon monoxide poisoning could come from bacteria. Mice treated with a tweaked version of a bacterial protein rapidly cleared carbon monoxide from their blood, safely eliminating it through urine, researchers report in the Aug. 12 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. “The most common poisoning in the world is carbon monoxide…
August 28, 2025 4 min read What Does the First Pig-to-Human Lung Transplant Mean for Xenotransplantation? Surgeons think the first transplantation of a pig lung in a human is an exciting step forward for the field, but many questions remain open By Humberto Basilio edited by Sarah Lewin Frasier Sebastian Kaulitzki/Science Source Scientists announced this…
An illustration of an uprising that preceded the French Revolution Stefano Bianchetti/Corbis via Getty Images Severe volcanic eruptions and changes in the activity of the sun may have set the scene for some of the world’s most famous rebellions, including the French Revolution. It has long been known that tough environmental conditions such as drought,…
A recent bout of the common cold may be a defense against a COVID-19 infection. A study that included the nasal swabs of more than 1,000 participants assessed whether infections with common respiratory viruses — including rhinovirus, the perpetrator of a cold — impacted later coronavirus infections. Having had a cold in the past month…
August 29, 2025 3 min read How Humans Became Upright: Key Changes to Our Pelvis Found Genetic and anatomical data reveal how the human pelvis acquired its unique shape, enabling our ancestors to walk on two legs By Katie Kavanagh & Nature magazine Humans have been walking on two legs for millions of years. Nick…
