Australia’s renewable energy boom has reached a remarkable milestone. The country now generates so much electricity from rooftop solar panels that, during the middle of the day, wholesale power prices frequently fall to zero or even below zero. Instead of allowing surplus electricity to go to waste, eligible households in parts of Australia can now…
Football has a habit of borrowing the language of space. Players become stars, matches are described as astronomical, and careers are measured by how brightly they shine. Every so often, though, the comparison drifts into something more literal. More than a decade ago, astronomers studying one of the earliest known galaxies in the universe chose…
Archaeologists have deciphered a 1,700-year-old inscription at an ancient Roman temple in Turkey that offers rare written evidence of the shift from Mithraism to Christianity during the Roman period.The inscription was found at an underground Temple of Mithras inside Zerzevan Castle, a Roman fortification about 40 miles from the Syrian border. It was written in…
Picture credit: True Anomaly For decades, space battles have belonged to the world of Star Wars and science fiction. But as more satellites fill Earth’s orbit, military powers are now preparing for a future where satellites may have to track, approach and respond to rival spacecraft in orbit.That idea moved a step closer to reality…
Carl Jung (Image: Wikipedia) Carl Jung is widely credited with this line: “The first half of life is devoted to forming a healthy ego, the second half is going inward and letting go of it.” It splits a human life into two very different jobs. In your younger years, the task is building a self,…
Sea ice melts on the Franklin Starait (AP file photo) Scientists have tested an idea that could help reduce the melting of Arctic sea ice, and the initial results are promising. The method involves spraying of seawater onto existing sea ice in winter and letting it freeze into a new layer.The on-site experiment took place…
Quote of the day by John Locke (AI-generated image) You cannot know something you have never actually encountered in some form. That is the whole idea behind John Locke’s line, “No man’s knowledge here can go beyond his experience.” He wrote it in 1689, in An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, while arguing against the idea…
Representational photo of Voyager When NASA launched Voyager 1 in September 1977, it was expected to explore the outer planets before continuing its journey into deep space. Nearly 49 years later, the spacecraft is still continues to send information back to Earth from about 25 billion kilometres away, making it the most distant human-made object…
Among the many industries that China and the USA are competing in, space is a rising battleground. The two countries that have tried their best to form a bond in trade and truth but remain contentious in spirit. China is rapidly advancing its lunar exploration program and is expected to eventually send taikonauts to the…
Artificial intelligence is driving an unprecedented surge in demand for computing power. Still, the data centres behind today’s most advanced AI models face a growing challenge: keeping millions of processors cool without consuming vast amounts of energy and water. On Earth, cooling systems can account for a significant share of a facility’s electricity use while…
For many people, the Milky Way is something they have seen only in photographs. Under most urban skies, the galaxy’s faint glow is washed out by artificial light, leaving only the brightest stars visible overhead. Yet there are a few nights each month when conditions become much more favourable, and July offers one of those…
A barren stretch of volcanic rock rising from the Atlantic Ocean may not sound like one of the world’s most protected places, yet almost nobody is allowed to set foot on Iceland’s Surtsey island. There are no permanent residents, hotels or tourist attractions, and even scientists need special permission to visit. The reason lies in…
For centuries, the arrival of thousands of cliff swallows transformed the skies above a small California town into one of America’s most celebrated wildlife spectacles. Every spring, the agile birds returned almost like clockwork after migrating from South America, filling the air with their distinctive chatter as they rebuilt their mud nests around the historic…
Scientists say we have only explored a fraction of Earth’s Seas and Oceans Less than 30% of the world’s ocean floor has been mapped to modern standards, meaning scientists still have a clearer view of the Space, Moon and Mars than of the seabed that covers most of Earth.The global effort known as the Seabed…
Quote of the day by Marie Curie (AI-generated image) Marie Curie is widely quoted as saying, “Be less curious about people and more curious about ideas.” It remains one of her most repeated lines, often shared as a reminder to spend less time on gossip and comparison and more time on genuine learning. Curie said…
Quote of the day by Michael Faraday (AI-generated image) A young mathematician takes an older scientist’s life’s work and translates it into equations the older man cannot fully follow. Most established figures would bristle. Michael Faraday, one of the most celebrated experimental scientists in history, wrote to the young James Clerk Maxwell in 1857 admitting…
China is building a very different kind of AI story than the one most people see in the West. Instead of focusing mainly on chatbots and artificial general intelligence, it is investing heavily in systems that help cities, factories, logistics networks and public infrastructure adapt in real time, reported Asia Times. China’s AI is about…
California’s seabird crisis is a stark reminder that climate change is no longer a distant environmental issue (Canva) Thousands of seabirds washing up along California’s coastline have become a heartbreaking symbol of a marine ecosystem under extreme stress. Emaciated birds are turning up dead or starving in unusually high numbers, from brown pelicans and common…
Scientists collected samples from 11 caves in Spain and Portugal (Credits: Alberto Martínez Villa) For the first time, scientists have recovered ancient human DNA left behind on cave walls and rock art, opening a new way to study the people who created prehistoric paintings thousands of years ago.The breakthrough was described in a study published…
Contrary to popular belief, China’s massive planted forests are growing faster than natural woodlands, showing accelerated leaf growth and canopy expansion. Image Credits: Wikimedia Commons When we look at satellite images of a changing planet, we often think of industrial expansion or environmental loss. We picture urban concrete spreading across historical valleys, long transport corridors…
