Science

New study peers beneath the skin of iconic lizards to find ‘chainmail’ bone plates – and lots of them

New study peers beneath the skin of iconic lizards to find ‘chainmail’ bone plates – and lots of them

Monitor lizards, also known in Australia as goannas, are some of the most iconic reptiles on the continent. Their lineage not only survived the mass extinction that ended the reign of non-avian dinosaurs, but also gave rise to the largest living lizards on Earth. Today, these formidable creatures pace through forests and scrublands, flicking their tongues as they go. A …

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This Blue Laser Just Solved a 150-Year Physics Mystery – SciTechDaily

This Blue Laser Just Solved a 150-Year Physics Mystery  SciTechDaily Lasers just unlocked a hidden side of gold, copper, and aluminum  ScienceDaily Hebrew University Detects Magnetic Signals In Metals For Faster Processors  Quantum Zeitgeist A sensitive MOKE and optical Hall effect technique at visible wavelengths: insights into the Gilbert damping  Nature Scientists Achieve the “Impossible” by Detecting Invisible Forces in Ordinary Metal  The Debrief Source …

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New device turns moon dirt into water and oxygen for lunar bases

New device turns moon dirt into water and oxygen for lunar bases

Building a long term base on the Moon has always stumbled over one stubborn shortage, water. A study recently published describes a device that heats lunar soil to pull water out of the dirt and, in the same chamber, uses that water to turn exhaled carbon dioxide into oxygen and materials for fuel. “We never fully imagined the ‘magic’ that …

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Hackaday Links: July 20, 2025

Hackaday Links: July 20, 2025

In the relatively short time that the James Webb Space Telescope has been operational, there’s seemingly no end to its list of accomplishments. And if you’re like us, you were sure that Webb had already achieved the first direct imaging of a planet orbiting a star other than our own a long time ago. But as it turns out, Webb …

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Japan discovers object beyond Pluto, puts Planet 9 in doubt • The Register

Japan discovers object beyond Pluto, puts Planet 9 in doubt • The Register

Asia In Brief Japan’s National Astronomical Observatory last week announced the discovery of a small body with an orbit beyond Pluto’s, and scientists think its presence means the “Planet 9” theory should be revisited. The Observatory named the body 2023 KQ14 and explained its FOSSIL (Formation of the Outer Solar System: An Icy Legacy) project spotted it during 2023 using …

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New optical microscope captures atomic world with one-nanometer precision

New optical microscope captures atomic world with one-nanometer precision

Microscopes have long been scientists’ eyes into the unseen, revealing everything from bustling cells to viruses and nanoscale structures. However, even the most powerful optical microscopes have been limited by a fundamental physical rule known as the diffraction limit, which prevents them from clearly seeing anything smaller than about 200 nanometers—far too large to capture single atoms. This limitation has …

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‘Fighting dragons’ light up little-known constellation in the Southern sky: Space photo of the week

‘Fighting dragons’ light up little-known constellation in the Southern sky: Space photo of the week

The “‘The Fighting Dragons of Ara” is a nebula in a huge molecular cloud. (Image credit: Image credit: Dark Energy Survey/DOE/FNAL/DECam/CTIO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA. Image processing: R. Colombari and M. Zamani (NSF’s NOIRLab)) QUICK FACTS What it is: NGC 6188, also known as the Fighting Dragons of Ara or the Firebird Nebula Where it is: 4,000 light-years away, in the constellation Ara (“the …

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Scientists Stumble Upon Thousands of Giant, Living Eggs in an Active Underwater Volcano—A Shocking Revelation About Deep-Sea Life

Scientists Stumble Upon Thousands of Giant, Living Eggs in an Active Underwater Volcano—A Shocking Revelation About Deep-Sea Life

In an exciting breakthrough, scientists from Fisheries and Oceans Canada made an unexpected discovery off the coast of Vancouver Island—thousands of giant, living eggs at the summit of an active underwater volcano. This remarkable find not only changes our understanding of this remote region but also reveals how volcanic heat can be harnessed by marine life in extraordinary ways. A …

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